Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
by Lanie L Sullivan
Summary: A response to the FB Christmas challenge to re-create an existing Christmas movie/story in SMK-style. For mine, I chose Dolly Parton's "Smoky Mountain Christmas" to do up Lee and Amanda-style. Set Christmas 1987. Mystery marriage is a memory.
1. Baby Talk is Cheap

Lee and Amanda were working in the Q Bureau re-organizing their case file since their caseload was light for once after several hectic months. They worked in symmetry, Lee half-sitting on the edge of his desk dictating from hand-written reports and case notes while Amanda typed furiously before printing the hard copies, collating the files and placing them neatly into their proper homes in the vault.

Lee stretched and let out a deep sigh. "Do you mind if we take a break for a bit? I feel like I'm going cross-eyes staring at these."

"Well, maybe if your handwriting weren't so sloppy…" she teased.

"Ha, ha," he responded dryly, but then placed a hand over hers with a tender caress to stop her data entry. "Seriously, I need a minute." He gave her a pleading look. "Besides, there's something I kinda' wanted to talk to you about."

Upon hearing the seriousness in his tone, she paused in her work and turned to face him, giving him her full attention. "Okay, I'm listening."

"About Christmas…" He began hesitantly. "It's coming up soon and I-"

"Oh, no you don't!" she scolded. "You're not signing us up for more work again; not this year, Buster! I've had all I can take of being held hostage or…or being shot at on Christmas!" She stood up to stare down at him, a look of forceful determination of her face. "Besides, Billy already approved us taking a week off because this is our first real Christmas as a family and you promised-"

"Amanda, stop," he interrupted her as he rose to his full height and met her eyes as he took her hand in his. "That's not what's happening here. I'm completely on board with a family Christmas. I want that more than I've ever wanted anything. You know very well that I never had that after my parents died because there just wasn't any family left to have it with, but now that I've got my own family, I-" He paused and shook his head. "Listen to me and what you've done to me; I'm even starting to babble like you do. But the point is that I'm not bailing on the family Christmas. In fact, it's just the opposite. I want to do something really special with the boys this year."

"Such as," she questioned warily.

"Well, I was thinking; you and the boys love camping…"

"Not in December," she pointed out. "It's freezing in the woods in December."

"Will you just let me get this out?" he asserted in mock annoyance.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She sank back down into the chair. "I said I was listening and I am." She mimed zipping her mouth shut.

Lee couldn't help chuckling at her action. "Good. Now, I wasn't thinking of camping exactly, but maybe the next best thing." He pulled a glossy, brightly-colored brochure out of his pocket and leaned in close to show it to her. "This place in the Blue Ridge does Christmas vacation packages, cabins with all the amenities; the townies go all out for the holidays for tourist season; they even let you choose and cut down your own Christmas tree to put up." He tapped the brochure. "See? They grow them year-round just for this."

"So I see. It all looks very nice, but-"

"But what? You already know Joe's not going to be around because his parents are springing for that big trip to Europe as a belated wedding present for him and Carrie…"

"Which they wanted the boys to go on too," she chimed in.

"And they chose not to," he reminded her. "They both said they wanted to stay here and spend Christmas with you...or...us, I should say." He still wasn't quite sure how he fit into the whole equation as far as the boys were concerned.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. She'd hated putting the boys in the position where they had to choose which parent to spend Christmas with, but the elder Kings with their whirlwind trip had left her no choice, so being the conscientious mother that she was, she hadn't said they couldn't go. Instead, she'd decided the boys were old enough now to make that decision for themselves and without her prompting in the slightest, they'd politely turned down their grandparents' invitation.

"So, what's the problem with my idea?" He dropped the brochure in her lap and started counting off on his fingers. "There are a ton of reasons to do it. One, we're not expected at work for a whole week; two, the boys don't have to split their time between parents this year; three, your mother's off to be shacked up with her boyfriend for Christmas..."

"Shacked up? I think it's a little more than that. They've been seeing each other for over a year now and he wants her to meet his family. That's a good thing."

"Okay, maybe that's the wrong phrasing, but either way, it amounts to the same thing; she's not going to spend Christmas with us." He took a breath and continued with his counting off on his fingers, "Now, fourth, my uncle's on assignment in some place he can't even talk about so he won't be joining us for Christmas either and finally, we never did get to take another trip after our honeymoon was ruined, so why not do a family vacation for the holidays?"

"Gee, I don't know, Lee. Things like this can get awfully expensive."

"And we've got the money my uncle gave us as a wedding present once he found out we got married. He even said we should do something fun with it since we didn't get a real honeymoon, so why not this?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you so keen on doing this? I mean, in all the time I've known you, you've never been one for really getting into the Christmas spirit. So why now?"

"I already told you," he huffed impatiently. "It's our first Christmas together as a real family, so why shouldn't we do something together as a family?"

"I understand that part of it," she explained in a soothing tone as she reached for his hand and began lightly stroking it to appease him. "But we could have a perfectly nice family Christmas right in our own home."

"Sure..." he scoffed. "In the home you shared with your ex that doesn't really feel like it's _our_ home."

Amanda let out a melancholy sigh. "So, that's it, huh? How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be jealous of Joe?"

Lee shook his head. "It's not about being jealous, Amanda. It's about the fact that you and the kids have all these memories of being a family with Joe...in that house and I - well, up until a few months ago, I was just on the outside looking in...literally." He perked up a bit and asked, "While we're on the subject why don't we go back to the idea of buying a new house...one that could really be ours? I mean, I know it wasn't really an option when we were still keeping our marriage a secret, but why couldn't we do it now? For that matter, if we're going to be looking at houses, why not look for one big enough that we could..." He hedged a bit as he worried about just how to bring up the next topic.

"We could what?" she questioned and raised an eyebrow in alarm.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly and then said all in a rush, "We could...I don't know...maybe talk about expanding our family. I mean, I know when we were talking about our future when we first got engaged, we didn't really talk much about the idea of us having a kid together...or at least...well...you didn't, but I sort of brought of the subject when I was talking about how I always wanted my kids to have horses and I-I-I- thinks it's worth at least seriously talking about. What do you think?"

"Wow," she replied incredulously. "I...um...I don't know what to say to all this, Lee."

At seeing the stunned look on her face and the frown that accompanied it as she abruptly released his hand, Lee quickly began to backpedal, "You know what? Never mind all that. It was a dumb idea. It would never work with what we do for a living. Forget I said anything about it at all."

"No..." She gave him a half-smile. "Sweetheart, I don't want to forget you said anything. If this is something you really want, we definitely _should_ talk about it, especially since I...um..." She trailed off unable to complete her thought for fear of hurting his feelings.

"You what, Amanda?" He pressed. When she merely looked down at the floor and didn't respond, he questioned uncertainly, "You _do_ think it's a dumb idea, don't you?"

She finally raised her head to meet his eyes again and replied honestly, "No, I don't think it's a dumb idea at all. What I do think is dumb is that we never discussed it before we got married because when two people are thinking of starting a whole new life together, that's something that they really should talk about and make sure they're on the same page." She shook her head and scolded herself aloud, "I should've thought about it too because I learned that lesson all too well with Joe. He and I didn't really discuss what we wanted out of life. I wanted family and a home and he...well, you already know that he didn't or at least not as much as I did and now, it's just the opposite-" She stopped speaking abruptly and clapped her hand over her mouth, wishing she could take back that last statement when she saw the way her husband's face fell.

"You don't want to have a baby with me?" he sniffed, the hurt evident on his face.

"I-" She hesitated as she tried to think of a way to undo the damage. "It's not that I don't. I just...I never really thought about it in any kind of serious way because...like you said...because of what we do for a living. I didn't think it would really be an option...or at least not a wise decision to make. I'm sure you remember that the whole reason we hid our marriage to begin with was because we were worried about how our jobs might affect our family. You even said yourself that one day our family could get into trouble just like Khai's did."

He shot her a skeptical look. "But that's not all of it, is it? You know very well from our conversation with Billy when we first came clean that the Agency does everything in their power to protect families. So, what's really holding you back?" His expression soon turned into one of accusation. "You don't think I'd be a good dad, do you?"

"Lee, Sweetheart, no!" she protested adamantly. "I think you'd be a wonderful father. In fact, you already are to Phillip and Jamie." She grimaced as she thought of what could happen. "This isn't about you; it's about me," she finally admitted. "I'm not sure I want another baby, not because of the Agency or because I don't think you'd be a good dad. It's more because I'm just really getting somewhere here at work. I'm finally considered to be a real agent and no longer an agent candidate now that I've finished all my coursework. Plus, after months of being on light duty after being shot, I'm finally approved for full-time fieldwork again and...and...well, if I were to get pregnant right now, that would set me back again."

"Huh." he snorted as he stepped away from the desk and began pacing. "You're starting to sound like Joe...choosing career over family."

"That's not what I'm doing," she argued as she rounded the desk to meet him mid-step and halted him in his tracks. "But, Lee, you're not being very fair to me by just dumping this on me and expecting me to make a huge decision like this on the spur of the moment."

"You didn't seem to have any trouble accepting my marriage proposal on the spur of the moment. OR for that matter, deciding to keep it a secret pretty damn fast."

"And both of those things are very different from having a baby," she countered. "Look, it's all very good for a man to want a baby and I think it's really sweet that you feel the way you do about it, but it's the women who has to do all the really hard work."

"So, you're saying no, just like that?"

"No," she assured him. "I...um...I'm not saying no...not yet anyway. What I'm saying is that it's not an easy decision to make on a moment's notice. I need some time to think about it. Can you give me that please?"

He was disappointed that she wasn't as excited about the idea as he was, but he conceded, "Yeah. Yeah, sure I can do that. But what about the house thing? Can you a least consider it? Even if we don't have another kid, it wouldn't hurt to shop for a bigger place anyway.. With the boys getting older, they're getting to the point that they're sometimes ready to kill each other with sharing a room. It might be nice for them to have their own space."

"Of course," she readily agreed. "Besides, I don't like the idea of you being uncomfortable living there either. I guess I never really thought about how awkward it would be for you to live in a house I bought with Joe. And as for this trip, I'll make you a deal. We'll put it before the boys just like we did with Joe's trip to Europe and if they're okay with it, then I'm okay with it. I just really don't want them to feel forced into it because then they won't enjoy themselves and that will make Christmas miserable for all of us."

"Okay. That sounds fair. The last thing I want is for our first Christmas together to be lousy for the whole family," he concurred.

"Good. So, we'll talk to them about it tonight at dinner." She gave a nod to the stack of files still on the desk. "But until then, we should get back to work if we want to get all this done. I'm not taking a chance of Billy revoking our leave time because we're behind."

Lee made a sour face, but nodded anyway. "Yeah," he groaned. "You're right. Let's get to it."


	2. Tripped Up

Lee and Amanda were sharing bathroom space as they were getting ready for work, Amanda was brushing her teeth and listening to the soft singing he always did while drying his hair from his morning shower. She finished brushing and while rinsing out her mouth, reached into the medicine cabinet for her morning pill just as her husband switched off the hair dryer. As she extracted her daily dose from its package, she said, "Hey, remind me that I need to call the doctor's office soon. I'm getting low on birth control and I'm out of refills. I need to do it soon before he closes his office for the holidays, especially since the boys agreed to the trip."

"Or maybe I don't remind you," he replied and slipped his arms around her from behind just as she swallowed her pill. He lightly brushed his lips against the tender skin of her neck. "Maybe you should just let them run out."

"Oh, sure," she scoffed as she set down her cup and turned in his arms. "I'm sure that would thrill you since you love wearing condoms sooo much."

"That's not what I meant, Amanda. I mean, why not stop taking precautions altogether?"

"Lee," she began in a soft, crooning voice as she rested her hands on his chest. "I know you want a baby, but-"

He shook off her touch, backed up against the wall and crossed his arms. "What's wrong with that? You know how much family means to me." He couldn't understand her reaction. She was acting as if having his child would be the worst thing ever, yet she seemed to love being a mother, so what was the problem?

"I know that, Sweetheart, but I don't think you understand just how hard having a baby is under normal circumstances, let alone working in the kind of business that we do."

"Come on, Amanda, it can't be any worse that you raising two boys by yourself, four years of that while you were working at the Agency. In fact, it should be easier now when there are two of us."

" _And_ two teenagers in the house," she reminded him.

"Your mother's here too. Couldn't she help out as well?"

"Well, sure, once the baby's born and if the anvil-sized hints she's dropping since she found out we were married are any indication, I'm sure she'd be thrilled to have another grandchild, but you're missing my point. I'm not just talking about after the baby's born; you have no idea what pregnancy does to a woman's body, the bloating, the fatigue, the morning sickness, gas, hemorrhoids, stretch marks, swollen feet, swollen ankles, swollen...everything...and that's not even adding in the tremendous hours-long pain of labor and delivery and as much as you may want a baby, I'm the one who would have to endure all of that."

"Do you think I wouldn't be there for you through all of that?" he questioned. "I'm not Joe, you know."

"Of course, I know you'd be there for me through it all; that's not even an issue and I don't see why you're bringing up Joe when he has nothing to do with this at all."

"Oh, I think he does," Lee countered and dropped his hands to his sides in irritation. "You were perfectly willing to have his children, but not mine, and you got burned with him so now you think I'll be the same way, don't you?"

"No, Lee, not at all. The thought never even entered my mind, but now that you bring it up, I was a lot younger then. I was 22 when I had Phillip and 25 when I had Jamie; that's a whole lot different than 37. Not only that, but as I mentioned last night, I've finally been released for active field duty again and I'm done with my training classes and finally have full agent status. After how hard I've worked and how much I've studied to get there, why should I just give all of that up now? And furthermore, why would you expect me to when you've always said how much you admired me for it?"

"Don't you think you're being a bit selfish?"

"Selfish? Me? I'M being selfish? Listen to me, Buster, and listen good. It's all well and good for a man to want a baby, but it's the woman who has to do all the hard work. Even after giving birth, there's postpartum depression and breastfeeding and walking the floor in the middle of the night when the baby won't stop crying and trying to lose the weight you gain from having the baby and-"

"So, you're saying you won't even consider it? I thought you said you'd at least think about it."

"I _did_ say that and I will, but you putting all this pressure on me doesn't help the thinking process all that much." She blew out a long breath to calm herself and in a softer tone continued, "Lee, I have two children already that are practically grown. Phillip's already in high school, remember? Don't you see how hard it would be for me to start all over again?"

"Huh," he snorted. "I just thought...I thought you loved being a mom."

"I do, Lee...I really do, but I don't want that to be all that my life ever was. Now, that the boys are older, I'm finally starting to be able to have a life that doesn't revolve solely around them and I'm really enjoying it and I thought you were too."

"I am. I love our life together, but I'd love it a lot more if I had a kid of my own."

"So, what are you saying? Phillip and Jamie aren't enough for you? I seem to recall how stressed out you were about making a connection to them when we first got married. I don't even know where this is coming from all of a sudden when we never even discussed the idea of having more children "

"I was stressed out about it because I wanted that connection to them and it's great, but we _did_ talk about kids. Don't you remember when we were trying to plan our wedding and were talking about buying a bigger house and-and horses and-" He broke off as he recalled with vivid clarity how she'd shot down all those ideas and in a melancholy voice questioned, "Didn't you understand why I wanted all those things?"

Amanda was at a loss for words for a moment as she reflected back on the time frame he'd mentioned and how he'd gushed about wanting his kids to have horses, but she'd thought he had just meant for the boys. It had never even occurred to her that he might want a child of his own someday. "So, you really _are_ saying that what we have-the family life we've built here-it isn't enough for you? You won't be happy unless we have a baby together?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I _am_ happy," he insisted. "Especially now that everyone knows we're married and we can finally live together like a husband and wife should, but I just...I just always thought that if the day ever came that I settled down, I'd have kids of my own and I can't think of a better mother for my kids than you. I see you with the boys and how great a mom you are and I want that for my kids."

"Kids? So, now you want not just one kid, but more than one? And you seem to be saying that you chose me to marry because I'm a good mom? Or maybe because you want me to be a human incubator?"

He let out a sigh and raked his hands through his hair in frustration. "No! I married you because I love you and wanted to spend my life with you. As for the kids part, I don't know about the 'more than one' part, but I'd like at least one."

"I see and I suppose it doesn't matter to you that I don't? Did you even plan on discussing this with me before you made this decision?"

"I _am_ discussing it with you now," he argued. "I'm not trying to make any decision without you like you're suggesting, but it's something I've been thinking about ever since we got engaged. There was just never a good time to bring it up after we decided to keep our marriage hidden." He looked at her sadly and asked again, "You won't even consider it?"

She shook her head. "I already told you I would consider it, Lee. I love you with all my heart and I want to make you happy, I really do, but this...having another baby, I just...I just don't know. I told you, I need time."

"How much time? I mean, we started this conversation last night."

"Well, it's a big decision, so I don't really know how much time I need, but I certainly need more than 12 hours. If you could just try to understand where I'm coming from, it would help a lot with the thinking process. I thought I was done having children years ago. I've been on the pill since just after Jamie was born because Joe and I struggled so much when he was still in law school and then when we got divorced, I just thought..." She let out a sigh. "I thought that was it. I never even thought about having another baby and I never would have imagined you were a baby guy with the way you struggled around kids going all the way back to Alexi Kalnikov. That's not to mention your wisecrack about never being a Bombers' father and then how you struggled again with Jamie, so you'll have to forgive me if I feel a bit blindsided here. This feels like it's coming out of nowhere." Amanda felt a stabbing pain in her heart when she saw him looking so wounded.

"You _really_ don't think I'd be a good father, do you?" he reiterated his worry from the night before, but this time rather than being accusatory, it was born of fear that she really did feel that way. Why else would she have brought up those past incidents?

"Lee...no...I never said that. I think you'd be a wonderful father. You have so much love to give and I see how amazing you are with Phillip and Jamie."

"Then why, Amanda?"

"For all the reasons I already gave you, the boys are so close to being grown, I'm finally getting somewhere in my career which is something I didn't get to have when I was married to Joe-"

"Oh, so I'm being punished because you couldn't have a career when you were with him?"

"I'm not trying to punish you, but do you really want me to give up everything I've worked so hard for?"

"Who says you have to give it up? There are tons of agents with families."

"Okay, yes, but they're mostly men; how many female agents do you see going back to fieldwork after having a baby? Besides that, I'm don't know that I could do that with the demands a new baby puts on you and I'm not even sure I'd want to."

"If you wouldn't want to go back to fieldwork, then what's the problem?

"Oh, I see where this is going. You want me to go back to being a stay-at-home mom and housewife," she suggested coolly. "Uh-uh. No way. Not a chance."

"I never said that, Amanda. The last thing I'd want is for you to leave the Agency. I'd miss you too much as my partner."

"We're supposed to be partners in everything, but it seems like you want to make all the decisions here about expanding our family and don't want to even consider other options...or a compromise."

"What kind of compromise, Amanda? We either have a baby or we don't, there is no in-between."

"Not necessarily. There are tons of kids out there in the foster system that need good homes. Maybe we could adopt...maybe an older child so there wouldn't be such an age gap with the boys like there would be if we had a baby. I've done enough volunteer work to know that they're often the ones who get overlooked by prospective adoptive parents because most people want babies or toddlers."

"I suppose..." he replied skeptically.

"It's a fact, Lee. They do get overlooked."

"I didn't mean that. I meant..."

"Listen, I'll agree to thinking about having a baby if you will agree to think about the alternatives."

"Yeah, I guess that's fair."

"In the meantime, I do still think it's a good idea to start house-hunting soon; maybe after the holidays because you were right about needing it for the boys so they can have their own space. Plus, since the boys agreed to the trip, you've got some planning to do."

"Me?"

"Well, it was your idea, so..."

"Okay, I'll make some calls when we get to the office."

"Good. And can we please table the baby discussion until after our trip? Maybe, I don't know, see how our first real family vacation goes first?"

"Yeah, I can do that."


	3. Family Ties

After she and Lee had called a truce on the baby issue, she walked down the hall to Phillip and Jamie's room to make sure they weren't dawdling on getting ready for school. "Hey, Fellas," she called through the open door. "Are you getting ready to go?"

As she stepped into the room, Jamie answered, "Phillip's already downstairs and I'm almost ready."

"Well, that's gotta' be a first, that he's ready for school before you are," Amanda chuckled.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Only because he's got some girl at school he wants to impress. He got up super early so he could beat me to the bathroom."

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you downstairs then," she said and started to leave the room, but was stopped by the questioning voice of her younger son.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a kind of personal question?"

"I suppose so. What's up?"

"It's not really any of my business, but when I was in the bathroom...I...um...well, you know how sound kind of echoes off the pipes from one bathroom to the other and I...um...I sort of heard some of what you and Lee were arguing about."

"Ohhh...you mean...?" She trailed off as she wondered how she could broach the subject with her more sensitive son.

"I wasn't trying to listen in, I swear," he began apologetically. "And I really didn't hear that much, but what I did hear...it...um...well, it sounded like you were talking about having a baby. I mean, it's cool with me if you are, but I...um...I just wanted to know. I wondered if that was why you stopped pretending you weren't married, you know, 'cause you're pregnant." Seeing the frown that crossed his mother's face, he quickly backpedaled, "Never mind. Forget I said anything. It's not really any of my business anyway."

She leaned in to meet his eyes. "Of course, it's your business, Sweetheart. If we did have a baby, that would affect you a lot. That baby would be your brother or sister. Not to mention, we'd have to move into a bigger house because the house we're in now is barely big enough for all of us as it is."

"I think that would be kinda' cool, actually."

"Which part? The baby or the house?"

"Well, both," he replied. "I've always wanted to be a big brother, but when you and Dad split up, I just figured it would never happen. And the house thing would be cool too, especially if I didn't have to share a room with Phillip anymore. So...are you?"

"Okay, yes, we are going to try to look for a bigger house because we need it anyway, but no, we're not having a baby."

"So, you just decided that already," Lee groused from the hallway. "I thought you said you were going to think about it." He'd only come down the hall to check on the boys and hearing his wife saying what she did to Jamie only made his anger flare again. He stormed down the hallway toward the stairs as fast as he could.

"Lee!" Amanda hurried after him and caught up with him in the kitchen where he'd paused to pour his morning coffee. "Lee, we need to talk about this."

He shrugged as he put the creamer back into the refrigerator and slammed it shut. "It doesn't seem to me that there's much left to talk about when you've already made your decision without telling me."

"Lee, you can't hear just a small piece of a conversation and think you know everything that's going on." She glanced nervously around the room at her older son and her mother, not wanting to rehash their argument in front of them. "Why don't we go into the other room and talk about this?"

"No need. I heard pretty clearly what was going on," he snorted.

"No, you didn't. You missed the part where Jamie asked me if I was pregnant."

"Are you?" Dotty asked and then gushed excitedly, "Oh, Amanda, that would be so wonderful!"

"Oh, no, not you too," she muttered under her breath. "No, Mother, I'm not pregnant. " She turned back to Lee, "And that's what I meant when I said to Jamie that we're not having a baby. I was just answering his question."

"It's true," Jamie added as he entered the room and made a beeline for the cereal box that sat on the counter. "I did ask and she answered."

"Why would you ask a bonehead question like that?" Phillip jeered at his brother. "If they wanna' have another kid, that's up to them, not us. Besides, it doesn't surprise me that Lee would want a kid of his own since he doesn't have any."

"You could try for the little girl you've always wanted," Dotty chimed in exuberantly.

"Okay, everybody, just stop." Amanda snapped. "We're _not_ having a baby, okay?" At seeing Lee's jaw tense, she quickly added, "At least, not yet. It's just something we're talking about. If we come to a decision, we'll let you know. Right, Lee?"

"Right," he replied with an unconvincing nod, but the last he wanted was to continue their argument in front of the rest of the family. "I'm just gonna' go finish getting ready for work."

Amanda let out a sigh as he took the stairs two at a time to make a hasty escape. She attempted to shake off her agitation as she reached for the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.

Once Jamie was settled at the table in the breakfast nook with his cereal bowl, Dotty sidled up to her daughter who stood at the counter sipping her coffee and queried in concern, "Is everything okay?"

"Fine, Mother. Why do you ask?"

Dotty nudged Amanda through the dining room door where it would be harder for the boys to overhear them. "Because things don't look fine from where I stand. I don't want to pry into your marriage, but things between you and Lee seem a little...well...tense. And I thought things were going so well between you until you came home from work last night."

"They were," she agreed with a hint of sadness in her tone. "Until we started talking about kids."

"Oh no," Dotty exclaimed worriedly. "Don't tell me it's going to be like Joe all over again where you want more children and he doesn't?"

"No, it's not. Lee wants a baby and I'm just not sure that I do," Amanda answered honestly. "And I really wish everyone would stop bringing Joe into this subject. He has absolutely nothing to do with it."

"Of course he does," her mother argued. "I remember all too well the fights you had about it. You wanted to try one more time for a little girl and he didn't and then things...they didn't work out for you when he decided he wanted to take that job that required being gone all the time, so with your past being what it is, is it really any wonder that you're having trouble discussing such things with Lee? It's bound to be a sore subject for you, but I know you, Amanda, and I know how much you love being a mother. It's been the most important thing in your life for a long time."

"It was, Mother, and I still love being a mom, but it's different now. I have a full-time job that I didn't have when the boys were little and I love it."

"You and that blasted job," her mother grumbled. "I know you love your job and it's been great to see you getting out in the world again after your divorce, but really, even though you enjoy your job, is it really more important to you than your family? Or Lee?"

"Of course not. If it came down to a choice between the two, I'd choose our family any day, but that's what I don't get about Lee. We have a great family here as it is now and I don't understand why that's not enough for him; why he can't be happy with what we've got."

"Did he say that he couldn't be happy with just the boys?"

"Well...no. When I asked him that same question, he said he was happy, but he's definitely _not_ happy that I said I needed some time to think about whether or not I want to have another baby. Mother, I don't know what to do. I don't want to screw things up with him when it's been so great since we finally moved in together and started acting like a normal married couple, but I just don't know if I want to go through all that again."

"But didn't the two of you discuss all of this before you made the decision to get married?"

"No, we didn't." She reflected for a moment on their conversation upstairs and Lee mentioning their discussion about wedding plans, houses and horses and reconsidered. "Or at least, I didn't think we had, but apparently when we were making our plans, he and I were talking about two different things."

"So, it _is_ Joe all over again," Dotty sighed despondently. While she'd been hurt and disappointed at first to learn that her daughter had married Lee without telling her, those feelings had soon be replaced by the elation she felt at seeing Amanda so happy, but now she couldn't help worrying that she was headed down the same path that had made her miserable in her first marriage.

"I really wish you'd stop saying that. Lee is nothing like Joe and I'm a completely different person than I was then."

"Clearly, you are. You wanted another baby then and now you don't and that's the part that I don't understand. You've always wanted to try for a daughter. Now you have that opportunity and with a man who, like you said, is different from Joe and has proven more than once that he's around and going to stay around no matter what. I mean, just look at how much he was here for you after that horrible incident in California; the way he took care of you while you were recovering and helped me look after the boys. He even did the cooking a few times so I wouldn't have to do it all. He was a saint during all of that when I know Phillip and Jamie were driving him absolutely crazy, but he never complained once."

"Oh, he did," Amanda said with a laugh. "Just not where you or the boys could hear him, but it wasn't really so much complaining as it was worrying that he wasn't quite as ready as he thought he was to dive into family life."

"He's certainly shown since then that he can handle it, especially with the way Jamie treated him in the beginning. He took everything that child threw at him and still kept on trying to reach him."

"Yeah, he did." Amanda smiled as she thought of just how well he'd done. She was immensely proud of him for sticking with it despite Jamie behaving as if her new husband were Public Enemy Number One. "He's been incredible with both the boys."

"I'm sure he'd be just as incredible a father to his own children, so I don't really understand why you're dragging your feet here."

"It's just a big decision," Amanda replied with a shrug. She couldn't really tell her mother the whole truth without revealing the true nature of the work she and Lee did. "There's a lot to consider. First, the house isn't big enough, so we'd have to deal with that first. Second, I have the boys to think about and how this would affect them. Then there's my job to consider..."

"The job again," Dotty sighed.

"Yes, Mother, the job. It may not be as high on the list as other considerations, but it is important to think about too. I've worked really hard there for the past few years and that's not something I really want to give up. And another thing, if we did have a baby, we would definitely need a bigger house and most likely would need both our incomes to do so, so yes, my job is an important factor in this decision."

"Well, it's your decision, of course, but I just wouldn't want to see you ruin the good thing you've got with Lee over it."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Amanda replied softly. 


	4. Best-Laid Plans

"So, the plans are all set," Lee told his wife with a grin as he hung up the phone a few hours later.

"Good," she smiled back as she crossed the Q Bureau to lean on the edge of his desk facing him and then leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "But did I hear you correctly on the phone? You booked a 4-bedroom cabin?"

"Yep," he nodded.

"But why? It's just going to be us and the boys, so we really only need 3 bedrooms."

"Well, the trip is still a couple of weeks away and even though your mom already made her own plans, anything could happen between now and then. She and Curt could have a fight or she could decide she'd miss all of you too much or something. If she did, then we'd have that extra room for her so that I could still keep my promise to the boys that they could have their own rooms on this trip and not have to share for a change."

"Awww...that's a sweet thought." She leaned in to give him a soft kiss. "See? You don't need a baby to be a good dad."

"I thought we weren't talking about that until after the holidays," he challenged her. "But since you brought it up, I've been thinking about this adoption thing you mentioned and I have to wonder, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of us having a kid of our own?"

"If we adopted, the child _would_ be ours, maybe not by blood, but legally they would be. It'd be no different than you doing all the stuff you do for the boys."

"That's kind of my point, Amanda; I _want_ it to be different. Don't you see that? I came along a little late in the game to be a real father to the boys. Don't get me wrong, I love them as if they were my own, but I missed out on so much with them and I would really like to have the chance to experience fatherhood from the beginning; you know, watch them grow up, be there to teach them stuff and do all the stuff a father is supposed to do. You spent so many years being both mother and father to Phillip and Jamie, I kinda' feel like they don't really need a father-figure anymore like they did when they were younger. Aside from that, they also have Joe coming around a lot more now that he's back in D.C. permanently."

"Lee, you _were_ there for the boys a lot, even before you met them. You were the one who got Pretzel the Clown for Jamie's eighth birthday and the Captain Galaxy for Phillip's eleventh and you were there the first time Phillip got his heart broken by a girl and even though they didn't meet you until last year, you did _watch_ them grow up...at least partially."

"But I don't want to be a partial father," he protested. "Besides, didn't you tell me once when we were dating and you finally came clean with all the stuff about your divorce that as much as you love the boys, you still wished you'd had a little girl too? Why shouldn't we try to give you that little girl you've always wanted?"

"Okay, yes, I did say that, but I thought-" Her words were cut off by his lips on hers as he slid his hands to her waist.

"Then there's the fact that we could have a hell of a lot of fun trying," he crooned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her, but then she let out a sigh and rested her hands on his chest. "Look, I've told you what I need and that's time to think. Until I have that time to think, my answer has to be 'no' because if I don't really want another baby and I were to do it just because _you_ want it, how would that be fair to our child? You wouldn't want that, would you; for your child to have a mother that never really wanted it, but only did so to make you happy while making herself unhappy?"

"I just..." He pulled back from her and blew out a long breath as he tried to figure out how to say what was on his mind. "When I asked you to marry me, I just never imagined that you wouldn't want to have a baby with me."

"Lee, please...just give me some time to process this, okay?" she pleaded with him. "I know I brought it up this time, but it wasn't my intention to really open that can of worms again when I was really just teasing you, you know, like we always do with each other. You asked if I'd consider it and if you want me to actually do that, you need to ease up and give me time to think because there really is a lot to consider and not just for me, but for our whole family. I mean, have you even thought about how this might affect the boys adding a new baby to our family? Then there's the fact that this house is already overcrowded as it is. Where the hell would be put a baby?"

"That's why I wanted us to buy a bigger house, remember? Aside from that, you already know that I'm not entirely comfortable living in house you once shared with your ex."

"And that's just silly if you want my honest opinion. In all the years you've been coming around even before we were a real couple, you've probably spent as much time in it as he has, if not more."

"Okay, well, how would you feel if I'd asked you to move into one of my old apartments where I'd romanced other women? Don't you remember that was why I changed apartments last year? I wanted a fresh start with you, but it doesn't seem that you want that with me."

"Oh, Lee, Sweetheart," she lightly caressed his face to comfort him. "Of course I do. Why do you think I was the one who pushed to get our marriage out in the open and for you to get to know Mother and the boys?"

"So you could integrate me into your life with them." He shrugged off her touch, and stepped around to the front of the desk where he could have some more space and began pacing at a furious rate before he continued, "But dammit, Amanda, I have changed so much in my life for you, adjusted everything I ever thought I wanted to be with you and it seems like this is just one more thing I have to give up. When are you going to be willing to change things or compromise for me?"

She stood at the front of his desk with her arms folded tightly across her chest and glared at him. "You think I haven't?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Do you know all the ways I have turned my life upside-down for you?"

"Name one. All I see is that you've done your damndest to turn me into your notion of a normal person, yet you've stayed the same. You're still the same old PTA-meeting-attending, bake-sale-organizing, charity-fundraising, Little League-coaching Amanda King that you always were. The only difference is that your name has changed and now you've dragged me into all those things with you."

"Dragged?" She shot him an affronted look. "Well, you don't have to go to those things, you know. I was perfectly happy doing it all alone just as I have for years. I just thought you'd want to be involved since you're involved in the boys' lives and you saying it bugs you now makes no sense when you say you want to be a father. Have you failed to notice just how many fathers attend those school or afterschool things? If those things bother you, then we definitely shouldn't even be thinking about having another child."

"Amanda, that's not what I-"

She held up one finger with a firm shake of her head, halting him in his tracks as she approached him. "And another thing, I have changed a lot in the years I've known you. You're not the only one who's adjusted a lot. Do you think I was running around getting shot at or blown up or being chased by the KGB before I met you? Or that I went to embassy parties and hobnobbed with the idle rich before you? That's not to mention that I have worked really hard to get over my aversion to guns for you, so I can be a better partner to you."

"Okay, yes, but that's all work-related stuff, Amanda. I'm talking about in our personal life. What have you done or changed for me other than making room for me in your closet? Same house, same routine and when I even suggest doing something differently you give me this...this look...this scolding look as if I'm one of your children and tell me 'that's not how we do things' like last night when I brought up the idea of this trip. You know, I have tried and tried to do things your way to make you happy, but you're so damned stubborn and set in your ways that you don't even want to consider doing things any other way than how you want it."

"Well, I'm sorry that our household routine is so boring for you, but when you have children, that's how things are done. They need routine and stability in their lives. While we're on the subject, that was _why_ I gave you that look last night. You can't just make plans for the boys and me without discussing it with us first, especially not a big thing like taking them away from their home for Christmas." She let out a little snort. "You know, I never would have believed it, but I think Francine was right all those months ago when she said it wouldn't work between us; you're really not ready for family life."

"Oh, no, don't you dare start in with that crap. I think I've done pretty well with all the family stuff here, but that's my point, Amanda. I have bent over backwards to adapt to all these changes, but you're not willing to bend at all. Everything is still always _your_ way, including us having another kid. I just brought up the idea hoping that we could talk about it, but just like you did last year when I wanted to start making plans for our future, you shot me down without even thinking about it. It makes me wonder if you really want to be with me at all or if you just wanted someone you could bend to your will since you never could with Joe."

"How dare you?" she snapped, a ball of fury now. "You know damn well why Joe and I got divorced and it wasn't all on me!"

"No? I read his account of it, remember? He sure as hell had a lot to say on the subject of just how goddamn stubborn you are."

"Listen, I said I would think about it, didn't I? I agreed to going house shopping, didn't I? But if you're going to act like a child about the whole thing, maybe it's best that we don't even consider it. I already had one experience with a man who wanted kids, but wasn't really ready to be a father and I can't go through that again."

"So, now you're comparing me to Joe again," he accused. "You don't trust me not to do what he did to you."

"I never said that. You brought Joe into this conversation, not me." She took a deep breath and in a calmer tone, said, "I just want you to try to see things from my point of view here. Don't you understand how scary the idea of having another baby is for me? It's probably as scary for me as the idea of settling down and trying to live a normal life was for you. I told you I would consider it, but there's is so much more involved here than just me getting off the pill and trying to get pregnant. Having a baby is a huge responsibility."

"You act like you think I don't know that," he complained.

"Do you? When you were up all night club-hopping in your twenties, I was up all night with a screaming baby, when you were sitting in the singles bars looking for your next mark, I was sitting in emergency rooms when the boys were sick. Even more recently, when you were out blowing your money on rare bottles of wine or artwork for your apartment, I was worried about how I was going to keep a roof over our heads on just a part-time job."

"You know that you don't have to worry about the money stuff anymore. Why do you think I went to all the trouble of having Edna put together all my benefits stuff at the Agency? I wanted to be sure that before I asked you to marry me, I could afford to take care of a family. I didn't want you or the boys to ever have to struggle again. Plus, I was thinking ahead a bit...thinking of this...the idea of having another kid."

Amanda nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'm sorry. I guess it didn't really hit me that you were thinking that far ahead even then. I was really dense in overlooking all the things you were doing and not realizing that that was _why_ you were doing it and that's why all of this has come has such a big shock to me. You said you didn't think I was willing to adapt for you, but if you want me to do that you need do what you promised and give me some time to think about this."

He reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, okay." He walked toward her and reached for her hand. "But just not too much time, huh? Neither of us is getting any younger."

"I know and that's...well, that's part of what has me concerned about all of this. Like we talked about this morning, I'm a lot older now than I was when I had the boys, but I promise, I'll think seriously about it, okay?" She brushed a soft kiss against his lips.

He nodded. "Okay. And I'll think about the adoption thing."

"See? We're compromising already." She kissed him again.

Lee pulled her closer to deepen the kiss just as the door was opened by Francine with a "Is it safe to-" She shook her head as she saw them quickly break apart and remarked with a grin, "Apparently not. Sorry."

"Oh, Francine, I'm the one who should be sorry. I completely forgot about our lunch date today."

"That's why I was coming up here," the blonde replied. "But if you made other plans..." She gestured to Lee and his attempts to wipe Amanda's lipstick off his face.

"No, I didn't. Let me just grab my purse and we'll go." She nodded to Lee. "See ya' later."


	5. Girl Talk

When Amanda and Francine were settled in at their favorite table at Randy's and Amanda was picking at her salad, but not really eating it, Francine began a bit awkwardly, "Sooo...how exactly did you forget about our lunch date when we've been doing this regular girls' lunch thing for six months now? Same time, same day of the week..."

"I'm really sorry. I just had other things on my mind."

"So I heard. Do you wanna' talk about it?"

"Talk about what, Francine?" Amanda replied evasively.

"The knock-down, drag-out you and Lee just had. Something about the kids and your ex?"

Amanda snorted. "How much did you hear?"

"Not all of it, but enough. When it got quiet, I assumed it was over and that it was safe to come in. I'm guessing I walked in on the making-up part?"

"Yeah...well, sort of." Amanda sighed. "The fight was over when you walked in, but we still haven't really resolved anything."

"If you need to talk..." The blonde offered. "I may not be an expert on marriage or family life, but I am your friend and I can at least listen."

"I appreciate that, Francine. The real trouble is that I don't think there's a good solution to our problem. He wants a baby and I-I-I just...don't. I told him I needed time to think about it, but really, I don't believe that all the time in the world is enough for me to change my mind. I just don't have the heart to tell him that because he wants it so much."

"Wow," was Francine's response. "I only heard the part where he accused you of comparing him to Joe and the stuff about the boys. Not that I was trying to eavesdrop or anything. I just happened to arrive when you two were shouting at each other."

Amanda shook her head. "You know, when I first got involved with Lee - I mean, _really_ involved - my biggest fear was that with his wild past, he'd eventually get tired of family life...or bored...or something and then we'd have a problem. Never in a million years did I guess that just the opposite would be the real issue. It just never even occurred to me that we'd come to an impossible situation with no solution over him wanting _more_ family."

"Maybe it's not as impossible as you're making it sound," Francine suggested hopefully. "You're the champion of compromising, aren't you?"

"But what kind of compromise can we really work out when he wants a baby and I don't? I feel like I'm being horribly unfair to him because he's such a good man and he is so good with Phillip and Jamie, but as he put it, he came along too late in their lives to get a real taste of fatherhood. He's such a loving, giving man that I can't help agreeing with him when he says that he deserves the opportunity to experience it from the beginning, but I-." She let out a deep sigh. "Things have been so good between us and now...now, this baby debate has ruined everything. When I told him 'no,' I-" She paused as she tried to find the right words. "You should have the look on his face; he looked so deflated, like a kicked puppy or something. I hate that I hurt him like that, but what else could I do? I had to be honest, didn't I?"

"But were you really?" Amanda shot her friend a curious look. "What I mean is, I've been listening to you talk about this and it sounds to me like you're not totally set on that 'no,' like maybe part of you does want another kid."

Amanda let out a dry chuckle. "I admit that when he mentioned the idea of trying for a little girl, I _was_ tempted because I always have wanted a daughter, but then I thought about everything that goes along with it. I mean, aside from going through another pregnancy and the stuff that entails, the morning sickness and the backaches and swelling up like a balloon and hours of mind-numbing pain of giving birth...there's also the stuff that comes after; the actual care of the baby and that falls on the mother...the middle-of-the-night feedings, walking the floor when they can't sleep or they're colicky and leaky breasts and pumping and then there's the question of what happens to my career while I'm at home with a new baby. I've come so far at the Agency and I'm finally through my training and I don't want to give that up when I've worked so hard to-" When she saw Francine raise an eyebrow, she questioned, "You think I'm being selfish, don't you?"

"No, not at all. If anyone understands what you're feeling, it's me. Why do you think my reconciliation with Jonathan didn't last long? We had just begun to attempt to put things back together when he started yammering on and on about getting married and having babies and putting my career on hold. Then he had the nerve to call _me_ selfish when I said I wasn't ready." She broke off when she realized she was getting angry all over again. "Sorry. This isn't about me."

"No, it helps," Amanda replied gratefully. "I just wish I knew how we could get past this. He wants this so badly and I don't." She thought of Francine's comment that maybe she wasn't totally set on her 'no' and amended, "Well, at least right now, I don't. I mean, we haven't been married all that long, we just got settled into a new household routine since Lee moved in and things are going so well with my career now that I'm finally done with my training classes and have been cleared for active field duty. Maybe in the future. but…"

"Hmm…If you were ever going to do it, now would be the time. The older you get, the harder it is. You're what, thirty-five already?"

"Thirty-seven," Amanda corrected and then let out a sigh. "I see your point, but do you see mine? I mean, I thought my baby-making days were long over and he just totally blindsided me with this."

"But did he really? Was it really all that much of a surprise?"

"Yes," Amand insisted.

"Oh, come on, Amanda," the other woman scoffed. "Even you can't be that naive."

"Oh, thank you so very much, Francine," Amanda retorted sarcastically.

"What I mean is that it's been obvious for awhile, even before you were a couple. Billy told me Lee once said you've got motherhood carved on your bones."

"Really? When did he say that?" She raised a curious eyebrow.

"When you were looking after Alexi Kalnikov. Why do you think you're the one he called when he was having trouble with the kid?"

"Because he knew I was a mom," Amanda replied simply. "That's all there was to it."

Francine shook her head. "No, Amanda, it's because he knew you were a _good_ mom. I think you and I both know that despite his protests to the contrary, Lee has always had that desire to settle down and have a family of his own because he had practically no one growing up."

"So, I was right," Amanda said sadly. "He did marry me just because he wanted kids."

"No, Amanda, I'm not saying that at all and you shouldn't be thinking like that," she reprimanded her friend. "Lee loves you. Anyone with eyes can see that, but I do think that part of what he fell in love with your nurturing nature. I don't really think that's because of you being a mom, but something that's just you as a person. Look at how you try to take care of everyone around you and I don't just mean your family. I remember how you looked after Billy when he had that whole weekend he forgot or after my embarrassing little outburst when we were locked in that freezer together. You tried to reach out to me in spite of me being a witch to you. Oh, and there was Rupert when he was all doped up. You took care of him too. Plus, there's all your volunteer work. And then there's Lee; I can't even count all the times you've taken care of him when he refused to take care of himself. Maybe he wants a baby not just for himself, but because you seem to thrive on being a caregiver."

"Huh. Maybe, but what he doesn't seem to understand is that because I do so much for other people, I'm really enjoying being able to do something for myself for a change with the job stuff. When the boys were little, I didn't really do much of that and it feels great. But now that this baby thing has come up and knowing how much it hurts him that I didn't just agree to it right away, now I can't help wondering if I'm being selfish."

"You're not," Francine assured her. "You have every right to be proud of your professional accomplishments, especially when you consider that you had a major setback when you were shot."

"And having a baby would set me back again," Amanda lamented morosely.

"It doesn't have to. There are a lot of women who have babies _and_ careers. It's not a one or the other prospect. After all, you were a single mom to the boys when you first started at the Agency and now you have Lee, plus your mom to help."

"Now you're sounding like Lee."

"Only because you don't sound quite so sure that it's not what you want," she reminded her friend.

"How can you be so sure when you said yourself that it's not what _you_ wanted?"

"I didn't say it wasn't what I wanted. I said I wasn't ready and there's a big difference; a difference I couldn't get Jonathan to see. I asked him for some time to think about it, much like you did with Lee. The bigger problem was that he wasn't willing to give me that. He demanded an answer right away and pretty much gave me an ultimatum; give him what he wanted or we were through. I knew in that instant that even if I decided I wanted a family, it wasn't going to be with a man who couldn't respect my wishes. You're lucky. You have a man who cares enough about you to give you some time and some space to think."

"I guess you're right. I do. Lee's a good man; the best really and I just know he'd be an amazing dad, so I guess you were right about something else too. It's not really that I don't want more kids; it's more about everything else that goes along with it. I even brought up the idea of adopting a child and he said he'd think about that as an option."

"See? There's the compromise you said didn't exist."

"Maybe, but is it really a true compromise when he wants a child of his own that he can be a father to from the beginning? It still feels like he loses out on what he really wants."

"Maybe, maybe not. I guess that depends on his perspective, but if you have a baby when you don't want to just to make him happy or avoid hurting him, aren't you the one losing?"

"Which brings us right back to the big problem. He wants something I'm not sure I can give him."

"I wish I had the right kind of advice to give you, but I just don't. Only you can really make a decision like that."

"I know, but it helps that you were willing to listen so I can get my thoughts out there to an objective party. That means a lot to me, especially since you've been Lee's friend a lot longer than mine."

"Well, I also know how stubborn he can be when he gets his mind set on something, so if he starts putting too much pressure on you, just say the word and I'll kick his ass for you."

Amanda laughed. "Thanks, but if he needs his ass kicked, I think I'm skilled enough in hand-to-hand now to do it myself."


	6. Billy Clubbed

While Amanda was at lunch, Lee decided to take advantage of her absence. He walked into Billy's office with an armload of files.

"Hey, I just wanted to turn these in. This is all the stuff Amanda and I finished last night," he told his long-time friend.

"And?" Billy probed.

"And what? I'm just turning stuff in like I'm supposed to," Lee replied aloofly.

"Come on, Lee, I know you better than that. You never come down her just to turn in paperwork. You have Amanda do it or hand it off to Francine to bring down here."

"I don't know what you-"

"Besides," Billy continued as if Lee hadn't spoken. "I know that look on your face. You need to talk about something, but you're not sure how to bring it up." He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat and then you can tell me what's on your mind."

Lee nodded and sat down. He should have known Billy would see right through him. "Listen, it's...um...it's about Amanda."

Billy chuckled. "I pretty much already figured that out when you waited until her weekly lunch date with Francine to come see me."

"Okay, okay, so I'm transparent." He sighed as he tried to think of how to begin. "Um...well, I've been thinking. I know you told me once that you had a lot of stuff to rearrange and plan for when you decided you wanted to marry Jeanie."

"Right," Billy agreed. "Just like you did with Amanda, but I'd say you had a lot more on your plate since than I did since she already had children. Is that what the problem is? Are you having trouble getting adjusted to being a stepfather to Phillip and Jamie?"

"No, not at all. Well, I did at first, mostly with Jamie, but things are a lot better there now. But it is about family life and you're a family man, so I thought..." He paused as he tried to regroup. "I guess what I want to know is when you were doing all that planning before you got married, did you and Jeanie talk about having kids ahead of time or was it something that just happened? I mean, did you want kids and plan to have them and-"

Billy held up his hand to stop Lee's rambling. "Is that what this is about? You're trying to figure out how to bring up the subject of having kids with Amanda and you're not sure how to do it?"

"I wish that were all there was to it," he scoffed. "I already brought it up and she wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea and I don't know, maybe I did it wrong or maybe it's too soon since we haven't even been married a year yet, but it's been on my mind ever since we finally moved in together and started living something of a normal life. Do you think it's too soon? Is that why she's hesitating?"

"Well, it's hard to say without knowing all the facts. What did she say when you asked her about it?"

"She said she needed time to think about it," Lee informed him.

"Somehow, I get the sense that that's not all she said or it wouldn't be worrying you the way it is," Billy replied with a pointed look.

"Okay, no. That's not all she said." He laid out the whole thing from beginning to end, including how her past with Joe had been brought up and the fight they'd had in the office about it.

"Hmmm..."

"What?"

"Well, it seems that she made some valid points and that she thoroughly explained to you why she needs time to think about it."

"So, you're on her side," Lee pouted.

"I'm not on anyone's side here, Lee, but you said you didn't understand why she's hesitating, but from what you just told me, she gave you several reasons for wanting to think things through before making a decision, the most important being that she's scared."

"But what does she have to be scared about? I don't get it. She said she thinks I'm doing great with the boys and when Joe got brought up, she said it's not because she thinks I'd be the same way he was with our kids. I pointed out to her that if she wanted to go back to work afterwards, I wouldn't have an issue with it. In fact, I even told her that I'd miss her too much as my partner."

"Let's start there then, the work angle. First of all, I can see why she wouldn't want to give up the job with as hard as she's worked to get where she is. Second, you just said you'd miss her as your partner and I can't help but agree with you there when I saw how nuts it made you when she was on restricted duty after her shooting. There were a few times I thought you and Francine were going to come to blows over it."

"Well, come on, Billy, it's Francine," Lee joked.

"And it would be like that again if Amanda got pregnant. You know very well that I can't allow a pregnant agent in the field. So, that means during that time, you'd be working with Francine again or worse, you'd have to break in a new partner and I know how much that idea thrills you."

Lee made a sour face, but still countered, "But that would only be temporary." Though he argued, he had to at least admit to himself that he hadn't really thought about that part of it.

"Maybe it would be and maybe it wouldn't, but even if it is, it would still be a pretty long temporary situation. You're talking nine months of pregnancy, plus a minimum of six weeks' time for her to heal from giving birth and that's assuming there are no complications with labor and delivery since she's older now than she was when she had Phillip and Jamie."

"Yeah, she brought that up too; that she's older now," Lee commented morosely.

"Even if things go perfectly, that's still assuming that she'd want to come back to work right away with a brand-new baby at home, particularly if she's breastfeeding. Balancing that with a career is hard enough for a normal working mom, but when you throw in the hazards of _this_ job, she may decide it's not worth it, especially since you _are_ partners. Whatever danger you get into, she's always right there beside you and she might not want to risk leaving your child orphaned."

"But that doesn't seem to bother her when it comes to the boys," Lee argued.

"Because she knows that if worse came to worst, they have Joe and she's got that security of knowing he's there even more now that he's back in the country full-time and has remarried. She wasn't wrong in what she said about agents with families at home. The majority of them _are_ men and unlike you, their wives don't come to work with them. While women have come a long way in the work place, there are still some types of jobs that many women feel are too dangerous to do while having very young children at home."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit. My mother was doing it in the 50s and women have come a lot farther than that since then," he argued bitterly.

"And look how you grew up as a result," Billy reminded him. When he saw that old melancholy, haunted look appear on Lee's face, he knew he'd hit his target. "Would you really want that for your own children?"

"No, the last thing I'd want is for my kids to grow up the way I did," he admitted. "Gee, you really know how to hurt a guy."

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Lee, just trying to get my point across. Amanda may not have said it directly, but I know deep down she had to be thinking about what happened to you as a child and worrying the same thing could happen to your family. Isn't that fear the same reason you hid your marriage to begin with after what happened with Khai and his family?"

"Yeah, and Amanda did remind me of that," he confessed.

"Look, I know you were hoping for some great words of wisdom from an old married man, but I can only help you so much because my situation is completely different from yours and Amanda's. Jeanie has always been a stay-at-home housewife where Amanda hasn't and we had our children together. Neither of us already had kids. Which brings me to another point she brought up; her boys. She can't very well make a big decision like this without thinking of them."

"I know that."

"But do you really understand where she's coming from? Those boys have had to deal with so many changes in their lives recently, both of their parents remarrying, one of them in secret. Then the truth came out about you two and they had to deal with feeling betrayed by both of you on top of you moving in with them. You also said Amanda brought up the big age gap there would be between them and a new baby and she's not wrong. Jamie's what...eleven?"

"He just turned twelve right after Thanksgiving," Lee corrected him.

"Okay, so just that's a minimum of a twelve-year age difference and that's with the younger of the two boys. With Phillip, it would be worse. That's an awfully big gap to overcome to create any kind of sibling bonding, especially when a new baby is going to take up most of your time. You don't want to go back to how it was before when Jamie was resentful of all the time you spent with Amanda, do you?"

"Okay, no, but like I said, we worked though that so maybe it won't even be an issue."

"Maybe not."

"Why the hell are you so determined to talk me out of this?"

"I'm not, Lee, I'm really not. Ultimately, that decision is between you and Amanda, but you came to me for advice and I'm just trying to help you to see things from her point of view so you can understand why she didn't give you the answer you want to hear right away. The best advice I can give you is to give her the time she asked for to think about it. You said she wanted to see how this trip went first?"

"Yeah. I guess sort of as a test run or something."

"That's not too far away. Why not give her at least until the first of the year or maybe even as long as your first wedding anniversary in February. By then, you will at least have been married for a year and it may not seem quite so sudden to her."

"But that's two months away," Lee protested.

"And how many years did it take you to finally admit how you felt about her?"

"Touché. I guess after all that, two months isn't really that long to wait."

"In the meantime, I'd suggest not even bringing up the subject. We both know just how stubborn she can be. If she feels like you're pushing too much, she's likely to dig her heels in even more."

He couldn't help laughing. "You're not wrong there. I guess I was overreacting a little. It just really surprised me that she didn't get where I was going with all the stuff I was trying to do before we got married."

Billy shook his head. "Now, _that_ surprises me. Didn't you learn anything from all the time that you two were dancing around each other? Amanda responds better to a direct approach. Why do you think she drove you nuts with all those men she dated while you were still making up your mind about her?"

"Are you saying she dated all those guys just to get to me?" he questioned. He couldn't believe Amanda would be that manipulative.

"No, what I'm saying is they made their interest in her known and you didn't. This baby thing isn't much different. Just from what you've told me, it sounds to me like you never once told her directly that you wanted kids until now, but expected her to somehow know it. That makes me wonder if you know her as well as you think you do."

"Well, I could say the same thing about her knowing me. She admitted that she missed all the hints I was giving her, but she's known me just as long as I've known her. Shouldn't she know by now that when it comes to personal stuff, I have a hard time being that direct?"

"Maybe, but you can't expect her to read your mind, Lee. Amanda may be intuitive, but she's not clairvoyant."

"God, I've been an idiot," Lee chided himself.

"I wouldn't go that far. I just believe that you were so wrapped up in what you wanted that it never occurred to you that she might not want the same thing. I've been sitting here trying to explain all of Amanda's arguments to you point by point and it seems like you understand it coming from me, so why didn't you listen to her when she said all these things? You remember a few months ago when I told you partnership is a lot like a marriage?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, I meant that and it's more important for you to pay attention to that now than it ever was. You listen to Amanda when it comes to the job and follow her instincts without question. I think you need to start doing that on the home front too. If you and Amanda do decide to expand your family, you're going to find fatherhood that much more challenging if you don't"

"I really am just like her ex. No wonder she was so hostile about it. She felt like I was trying to pressure her into doing something she didn't really want to do just like he did."

"No, I wouldn't say that either. There's a big difference between you and Joe. He waited until it was too late to realize the mistakes he made with her. You're smarter than that."

"I sure hope so," Lee muttered worriedly. He had to wonder if that was really a big part of Amanda's issue. She'd made a comment about him putting too much pressure on her. Maybe the whole thing had just been a bad reminder for her of how much she'd felt pressured by her ex-husband to give up what she wanted in favor of what he wanted. He resolved to do better in the future. He smiled at his boss. "Thanks, Billy, for everything."

"Glad I could help." He smiled back. He hoped like hell the pair were able to work things out, no matter what decision was finally made. As long as it had taken them to finally come together, he'd hate to see it torn apart over something they just couldn't agree on. "Let me know how it turns out."

Lee rose from his seat and nodded. "I will."


	7. A Home For the Holidays

Two weeks passed in a flurry of activity for the Stetson-King family. Lee and Amanda spent their days continuing their work project to get everything cleared away so they could enjoy their vacation worry-free while spending their late afternoons with the boys looking at houses. After what felt like they'd looked at every house on the market, they finally came across one that would suit their needs only three blocks away that the entire family agreed on.

While the boys explored the upper part of the house, Lee and Amanda listened somewhat inattentively on their second tour of the downstairs as the overly exuberant realtor droned on, "As I said it's got five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a finished basement that's been turned into a rec room with a half bath-"

Amanda interrupted the sales pitch by asking, "Excuse me, Miss Barnes, when we spoke on the phone, didn't you also say it's got a finished apartment over the garage?"

The woman smiled, "Yes, I did. Full kitchen, bathroom-"

"That's fine," she cut the woman off again with a wave of her hand. Amanda had had more than had enough of her trying to sell them on every single house they'd looked at and just wanted to be able make a decision without so much pressure on her.

"You're thinking about your mom," Lee commented.

"Lee, it's perfect," Amanda gushed, much to Miss Barnes' delight. "And the boys won't even have to change schools.

"It seems to be," Lee concurred. "But we should still get Phillip and Jamie's thoughts on it."

"Considering that they're already upstairs picking out their rooms, I don't think we'll have a problem talking them into it," she laughed. She then turned to the realtor accusingly. "Why didn't you show us this one first instead of dragging us all over town?"

"Well, this one was only listed yesterday," she explained. "The owner was recently widowed and with her children grown, she decided it was just too big for her alone and moved in with her daughter to help with her grandchildren. Her son-in-law is a Navy man, so isn't home much."

"Boy, does that sound familiar," Amanda commented. She became more convinced than ever that this was the house for them.

"I know that look, Amanda." Lee grinned broadly. "You think this is the house, don't you?"

"Well, don't you?"

Before he had a chance to answer, Phillip and Jamie raced each other down the stairs with cries of, "This place is so cool," and "Can we get this one?"

Their parents laughed and in unison replied, "Sold."

Both boys gave loud whoops of elation and then Phillip challenged his brother, "Race you to the backyard."

"You're on," Jamie replied as the two hurried off again.

"I think your boys are really going to like it here," the realtor said. "Plus, it's got plenty of room if you decide to have more children and-"

"Listen, Miss Barnes," Amanda began sweetly, "You've made your sale. There's no need to keep pushing, but what I would like is if you could give me and my husband a moment alone to discuss things."

She nodded. "Of course. I'll just go get the paperwork out of my car so we can get the offer started."

"Amanda..." Lee drawled her name with an edge of concern in his voice. "Don't you think you were a bit hard on her? She's just trying to do her job."

"Lee, I was perfectly polite."

"Oh, I know...and I know your 'perfectly polite' when you're on the verge of snapping, so instead you kill 'em with kindness."

"Well, she got the message, didn't she?"

"Yes, but why do I get the sense that the message wasn't just directed at her, but me too? I mean, I know you were already irritated with her because it felt like a wild goose chase looking at all these house, but the second she brought up having more children, you chased her off. I can't help thinking that was more about me than her. You said almost the same thing to me when we were talking about having a baby."

"Okay, maybe it was...a little. I'm sorry, but you have to admit you _were_ being a little pushy."

"And I haven't said a word about it since right after I talked to Billy about the whole situation. Hell, I even apologized to you for not really trying to understand your point of view, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, Sweetheart." She planted a firm kiss on his lips. "I really am sorry. I'm just still a little...I don't know...on edge about all this family stuff. But this..." She did a slow turn as she gestured around the room. "This house is so perfect that I-"

He slipped his arms around her waist and in a hopeful tone, inquired, "So, does this mean you're really thinking about what we talked about? No pressure or anything, but I'm thinking with a place this size, we're going to have extra rooms to fill, especially if your mom ends up moving into the garage apartment. That would leave us two extra bedrooms."

"You're right," she admitted. "And I _was_ thinking about it just like I promised I would..."

"Yeah?" His eyes lit up at the prospect.

"Yes, BUT, I was also thinking that we talked about adopting a child too, so either way, we'll still need at least one extra room and the fifth one could be...I don't know...maybe a guest room so when Aunt Lillian or your uncle come to visit, they'll have a place to stay."

"Good point," he agreed.

"Then you're okay...that I'm still, you know...thinking?"

"Yes," he assured her. "Take all the time you need to think."

"Thank you for understanding." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her for a sweet, lingering kiss.

"Ahem," a voice behind them broke the moment. "I...um...I'm sorry," Miss Barnes sputtered. "I...um...I have your paperwork, but if you need another moment, I-"

Amanda shook her head. "No." She smiled warmly at her husband. "I think we're done talking...for now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Following the decision on the house, Amanda made a meticulous list of all the things that would need to be done in the coming months before the sale of their new house closed while Jamie made a smaller list of everything he and his brother would need to pack for their vacation since he knew if Phillip were left to his own devices he would just hurriedly throw things in a suitcase at the last minute and then gripe about whatever he'd forgotten the whole time they were gone.

"Good for you," Lee beamed with pride as he clapped his younger stepson on the shoulder.

"Well, it's not like my bonehead brother will think to do it for himself and I don't feel like having our Christmas ruined when all he wants to do is complain about whatever he didn't think to bring with him."

"Great idea. You're growing up so fast." _Too fast,_ he thought dismally.

When Jamie saw a look of sadness flicker across Lee's face for just a brief moment, he asked, "Hey, Lee, are you okay?"

He smiled brightly at Jamie and replied, "Sure. Fine. Just looking forward to this trip with you guys so we can spend some real time together without the pressures of work or school getting in the way."

"Sure, right," Jamie replied skeptically, shooting his stepfather a 'don't con me' look. "I thought it might be about the whole baby thing again. You know, how you want one and Mom doesn't."

"Jamie..." he began, but paused not really knowing what to say. While he hadn't directly been thinking about that topic, his mind had drifted back to his fear that he'd just missed too much with the boys to really impact their lives.

"Come on, Lee, don't try to snow me. You've been getting that _look_ a lot lately; ever since I asked Mom if she was pregnant."

Lee fidgeted nervously. "What look? There's no look!"

"Lee, don't, okay? I'm not just some dumb kid and you and Mom promised after your big secret came out that you'd never keep stuff from us again."

"You're right, we did. You are just too damn perceptive for your own good," he replied with a chuckle as he affectionately tousled the boy's hair.

Jamie shrugged. "I just notice stuff, sometimes stuff other people don't even think about."

"Yeah, you get that from your mom. She's like that too."

"Look, if you don't wanna' talk about it, I get it. I was just...I don't know...kinda' worried about you."

"I know the feeling, Kid. I worry about you guys all the time too. That's just part of being a family, but listen, I'm really okay. Your mom and I made an agreement; she said she'd think about it and I said I'd give her time to think."

"That's good, right?"

"Right." Lee nodded. "Anyway, I just came up here to see if you needed any help with this stuff since your mom's keeping Phillip busy picking out a few Christmas ornaments to take with us for decorating the tree when we get there."

"Sure," Jamie replied eagerly. "It's not like Phillip will help me without Mom threatening to ground him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amanda cringed as she heard a thump and the distinctive sound of breaking glass when Phillip entered the family room from the garage. "Phillip, please tell me you're not throwing those boxes of ornaments around. Some of them are fragile."

"It was an accident, Mom," Phillip replied sheepishly. "I swear. I was just trying to close the door because I know how much you hate it when we leave doors open and I lost my grip on the boxes."

"Boxes?" She hurried to the family room where Phillip was standing in front of the French doors, three boxes on the floor in front of him. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to remain calm. "Why were you trying to carry three at once?"

"So I didn't have to make a bunch of trips back and forth," he answered as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "But then it kind of backfired when I couldn't see over the top one to close the door and I tried to...to sort of...kick it closed and lost my balance a little and-"

"Okay, okay," she interrupted and gestured to the boxes. "Let's just look through these and see how bad the damage is, but be careful. I don't want you cutting yourself."

"I really am sorry, Mom."

"It's okay. Just next time, set the boxes down first, then close the door. Or maybe don't try to carry so many at once, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

As she began shifting the boxes, she said, "Now, since you had them stacked, chances are good that the bottom one got the worst of it, so let's just start there, okay?"

"Well, actually I didn't drop the whole stack," he explained.

"I thought you said you lost your grip," she replied.

"Sort of. When I lost my balance, I didn't really have a good hold on the top one and it just kinda' slid off the top of the stack. The other two I just set down so they should be okay."

"Well, let's go through it first then so we can get the broken pieces out of the way before we sort them out by what we're taking with us and what we're not."

"Okay," Phillip agreed as he carefully delved into the box in question.

"Be careful," Amanda reiterated.

"I am, Mom," he assured her.

"Good," she nodded as she got to work helping him clear out the undamaged decorations to see where the damaged ones were. Together, they carefully laid aside the intact ones.

"So far, it doesn't look like much got broken except the generic colored ones," he informed her. "You know, the kind that come in a matching set."

"Oh, look at this." Amanda smiled as a wave of nostalgia hit her when she showed one of the ornaments to her son. "It's a good thing this one made it through unscathed. It's irreplaceable. It's a special one your dad had made for you for your first Christmas. We didn't have a lot of money then for decorations, so not nearly as many ornaments as we have now, but just having this one made our first Christmas as a family was worth more than any amount of money could buy."

"Right," Phillip snorted in disbelief. "If you ask me, that's one that could have been busted into a million pieces."

"Phillip!" she scolded.

"I mean it, Mom! I get that it means something to you and maybe it meant something to Dad back then, but where's that kind of feeling from him now?"

"You know your father loves you," she attempted to console him.

"Sure, but he loves his new wife more," he spat bitterly.

"Now, you know that just isn't true," she argued.

"Then why did he have to make me and Jamie choose between them and you guys? If he really cared that much, he coulda' stayed here and taken that trip with Carrie another time."

"Is that why you told him you didn't want to go? You're upset that he got married again?"

"No, I'm mad that the second he did, she took over everything. We just got him back in our lives and now his whole life is about her."

"You're sounding an awful lot like Jamie when he was jealous of all the time I was spending with Lee," she teased him.

"No, Mom, I'm not jealous. I'm just...I'm just mad that no matter what, Dad always chooses something else over us. When he decided to go on that trip, he didn't think once about how it made us feel that we had to choose between you or him or what it would be like for us if we spent our first Christmas ever without our Mom. I could deal with him not being here because I've pretty much gotten used to that, but it was selfish of him to even ask us something like that when you're the one who's always been there when he hasn't. That's why I didn't want to go."

Amanda frowned at Phillip's unhappiness. "Are you sure you want to go on this trip with us then? We can cancel if you really don't want to go."

"No, Mom. I wanna' go. I don't wanna be here and have to keep thinking about Dad not being here as usual, 'cause I still remember what it was like when he _did_ want to be around. I think it's really good that we're getting a new house because then there won't be so many reminders of when he was here, you know?" He nodded to the ornament. "Like that. Let's not take that one on our trip, okay?"

"Yeah. Probably a good idea," she readily agreed and wrapped it back in tissue paper. "But I'll...uh...I'll just set it aside, you know, in case you want it another time."

"Thanks for understanding," he replied gratefully.

She smiled at him. "You're welcome."

They worked in silence for a moment longer gingerly picking through the shards of broken glass until Phillip spoke up in a hesitant voice, "Mom...?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"Do...do you...uh...do you think Lee would be like that if he had a kid of his own?"

"Like what?" She tilted her head and looked at him curiously wondering where he was going with his question.

"Well, like Dad is now. I mean, I know he's been like Dad was when I was a baby, you know, super happy and trying real hard to make us feel like a family. But it seems like he really wants his own kid. If that happened, do you think he'd be like Dad is now, you know, not thinking about us as much, but only about the new person in his life?"

"No, I don't think that at all," Amanda assured her son. "He loves you and Jamie very much and he has worked pretty hard to make sure that you know that. I don't think that would change a bit if he and I had a child together. It would just give him one more person to love." She tapped the boxes. "Now, come on. Let's get this done."


	8. Plan B

The Saturday before Christmas, the whole group was gathered in the family room to have an early celebration with Dotty and exchange gifts before they left on their separate trips.

"It seems so strange not to have a tree up," Dotty commented with a little sigh.

"I know it does, Mother," Amanda replied. "But I already explained to you that it would be a little silly to go to all the work of putting one up here at home for just a couple of days when none of us is going to be here to enjoy it."

"Besides that, we're going to have one where we're going," Lee added. "And I'm sure Curt's family will have one there."

"Of course, they will," Dotty nodded. "It's just a little odd. That's all I was saying."

"You know, you could always still come with us," Lee suggested. "We'll have plenty of room."

"No, I couldn't do that when I already made a promise to Curt to meet his daughter and her children." She then grinned at both Lee and Amanda and teased, "Besides, with the way you two have been going back and forth on the subject, it may be the closest thing I'll ever get to having another grandchild."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "We're not going back and forth. We just agreed to wait until after the busy holiday season is over to really talk about it."

"But surely, it's still on your minds since you made an offer on that big house," Dotty countered.

"It was just time to find a place that we can really make ours," Amanda explained. "You know, for a fresh start without any old memories creeping in." She glanced to her older son as she reflected back on her conversation with him about Joe, "Right, Phillip?"

"Right," he agreed.

Jamie caught the downcast look on his brother's face and chimed in eagerly, "So, when do we get to open presents?" in an attempt to change the subject to a more pleasant one.

"Now, remember, you only get to open the ones from your grandma since she's not going to see you until after Christmas," Amanda reminded him. "The rest will have to wait until Friday."

"What about the ones Dad left?" Jamie inquired. "He won't see us for Christmas either."

"Don't you want to wait until you see him tomorrow when you say goodbye before he leaves and open them with him?"

"I don't," Phillip inserted curtly. "Why should we wait? We're only going to see him for like an hour or two before he hops on a plane." He then added under his breath, "As usual."

She cast a worried glance at him, but didn't have a chance to respond before Dotty jumped in with, "Well, you know you can at least have the ones from me." She began handing out wrapped packages and the bitter moment was soon overshadowed by a frenzy of flying bits of wrapping paper and the "oohs and ahhs," and "thank yous" that accompanied gift-opening.

The moment was not forgotten though as Lee caught sight of Amanda's furrowed brow. "Hey, you okay?" he whispered.

"Sure, Sweetheart," she lied as she pasted on a smile. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Amanda..."

"I'll tell you all about it later," she promised, though she wasn't certain how well that would go over when Lee already felt threatened by her past with Joe. She wondered if her mother had been right in what she'd said about her past with him affecting her new marriage more than she thought.

"Amanda, Darling," Dotty cut into her daughter's thoughts. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to open yours?"

"Oh...right." She gave her mother a smile and a nod as she tried to force her mind to happier thoughts. After all, they were all together for now and she was determined to enjoy the holidays with her family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Late Monday afternoon, the Stetson-King clan arrived at their vacation destination. "Wow, this place looks great!" Lee gushed as they entered the spacious cabin.

"Sure does," Jamie agreed.

"All right, let's get a plan together. Jamie, since you've got the decorations, you take them into the living room and just set them aside for now and then you can help your brother find your rooms and get unpacked since he's got your luggage? Then Lee can take care of ours while I put the groceries away in the kitchen. After that, we'll head out to the tree lot to pick out our Christmas tree before dinner." Amanda suggested. "And then after dinner, we'll decorate it. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like you taking charge again," Lee hissed in her ear.

"Do you have a better plan?"

He let out a resigned sigh and uttered a defeated, "No," and then turned his attention to the boys. "You heard your mom. Come on, let's get to it so we can go pick out our tree. Won't that be fun?"

Lee quickly deposited their luggage in the master bedroom and then returned to the kitchen. "Here, let me help with that," he offered.

She shot him a scolding look. "Now, I know you didn't have time to unpack already."

"That can wait until later. I...uh...I just thought I should help you out in here."

"Well, if you really want to help, there are two more grocery bags you could bring in from the car," she suggested.

"I-"

"That's what I thought. You're not really here to help. You just want to argue again," she sniffed.

"No, not argue," he corrected. "Talk."

"Look, I'm sorry if I was taking charge too much," she began. "I know now how much you hate that everything's always 'my way.'" She remembered all too well his comments about her keeping to the same old routine and how he felt as if he were being excluded. "It's just habit for me to take charge of things around the house."

"Okay, yes, I see that, but this isn't our house. It's a vacation house and I thought...I don't know..." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I thought that since you wanted me to do all the planning for this thing and since this _is_ a vacation, that maybe you wouldn't be so rigid about things for a change."

"I just thought we should get things neat and organized before anything else so that we can really enjoy the vacation part," she explained. "I wasn't trying to keep you out of anything, really. It's just part of who I am."

"I know that, Amanda. Like those insane lists you've been making since we made the offer on the new house."

"Well, there's a lot to do between now and then," she reminded him.

"Yes, there is," he agreed. "But I noticed that one thing you didn't include is dealing with my stuff."

Their conversation was cut off by a loud female voice, shrieking, "Don't touch me!" followed by a loud "Ouch!" from Phillip.

Jamie ran into the room with a "Mom! Lee! Come quick!" and then ran off again toward the bedrooms.

They hurried behind him with Amanda questioning, "What on earth is going on?"

"See for yourself," Jamie crowed as they entered one of the smaller bedrooms. "Looks like Phillip's got himself a new girlfriend."

"Shut up, Wormbrain," Phillip groused as he rubbed his jaw and glared at the girl opposite him who barked, "I am NOT his girlfriend!"

Lee and Amanda exchanged a surprised look. They glanced around the room, both at a loss for words for the moment as they wondered just what was going on.

"What'd you have to go and hit me for?" Phillip demanded.

"Serves you right," a younger boy jumped in. "You shoulda' left my sister alone when she asked you to."

"I was just trying to be friendly," Phillip defended himself.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Amanda questioned finally finding her voice. "Are we in the wrong cabin or something?"

"Maybe they accidentally double-booked it," Lee suggested. "After all, the keys they gave us worked and I highly doubt that they'd have multiple cabins keyed the same. That wouldn't be very secure for vacationers."

At Lee's comments, Amanda caught sight of the guilty look that passed over the teen girl's face. "Or maybe they're not supposed to be here." She cautiously approached her and met her eyes. "You're not...are you?"

The girl didn't answer, but her younger brother did. "See? I told you we'd get in trouble."

"No one's in trouble here," Amanda said gently. "We just want to know what's going on. Where are your parents?"

"Heaven," a small, frightened voice answered.

"Ivy!" the older girl hissed.

For the first time, Amanda noticed the third child, a girl of about four or five hiding behind the older two children who had just poked her head out to answer the question. Amanda knelt to her level. "Hi there, Ivy. My name's Amanda. I'm very sorry to hear that your parents are gone."

"Oh, like you really care," the older girl snapped as she scooped her sister up in her arms and pulled her away from Amanda.

"I do care," Amanda insisted. She gestured to Phillip and Jamie. "As you can see, I have two children of my own and I-"

"Then maybe you should teach your son to keep his hands to himself," the girl cut her off sharply as she glowered at Phillip.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Phillip protested. "I swear!'

"Hey, Chief," Lee crooned softly as he laid a hand on his older stepson's shoulder. "Why don't you and I go have a man-to-man talk, okay?"

Fearing he was in for a lecture, he still tried to defend himself, "But, Lee, I swear I didn't do anything but try to be nice and she-" He glared at the girl. "She just belted me for no good reason."

"Come on, you can tell me all about it, okay?" Lee replied in a more insistent tone.

Amanda mouthed, "Thank you," to her husband as he led Phillip off and then she turned to Jamie. "Jamie, there are still two more bags of groceries out in the Jeep. Would you go bring them in for me?"

"Sure, Mom," he agreed eagerly to get away from the tense situation in the room.

"Okay, listen," she began once she was left alone with the three orphaned children. "I don't know what your situation is, but I want you to know that I really am truly sorry to hear that your parents passed away."

"Yeah, right," the girl scoffed.

"Look, I think we both know you're not supposed to be here and I can just bet there is someplace you _are_ supposed to be." She gave her a pointed look. When the older girl remained silent, she asked, "Well, how about at least telling me your name?"

"None of your business!"

"Are you gonna' turn us in?" the boy asked worriedly as he sidled up closer to his sisters.

"Glenn," the girl hissed. "We don't talk to strangers, remember?"

"Oh, shut up, Sunny. You're not the boss of me."

"Ahh...Sunny," Amanda smiled. She then nodded to the boy, "And you're Glenn..." She then gestured to the younger girl still held tightly by her older sister, "And this is Ivy."

"So what?" Sunny shrugged. "You know our names. Big deal. Now, you can tattle on us or stab us in the back just like every other grown-up in the world."

"Well, that's going to be rather difficult to do if I don't know where you come from or where you're supposed to be or even your last name." _First names were at least a good place to start though,_ she mused. Her heart ached for these sad, orphaned children and her thoughts flitted back to her conversation with Lee about adoption. It was kids just like these siblings who fell through the cracks of the system as she'd mentioned to him. That was aside from the fact that she'd heard horror stories of overcrowding and understaffing in orphanages as well as inept foster parents. Clearly, these children had run away from something. She just wondered what it was and until she had more information, she didn't feel comfortable sending them back where they came from. She turned her attention to Glenn and informed him, "And no, I'm not going to turn you in. It seems like you've had a difficult enough time as it is and I don't want to make it any worse for you."

"Thank you," Sunny gratefully said as she finally released her hold on her sister and set her on her feet just as Phillip and Lee re-entered the room.

"Everything okay in here?" Lee inquired warily.

"I think so," Amanda replied.

"Good." He nodded to the older girl. "Hey...uh...young lady..." He looked to Amanda for help.

"Her name is Sunny," Amanda answered his unspoken question.

"Sunny..." Lee smiled. "I think Phillip has something so say to you."

"Hey...I...uh...I" Phillip sputtered nervously, worried that she might slug him again. "Sorry. I shouldn't have touched you without your permission."

Sunny eyes him warily for a moment and then grudgingly replied, "Thanks. And I...uh...I shouldn't have hit you. It was just...you know...a reflex."

"Listen," Amanda chimed in. "Why don't you guys get to know each other a little bit...without touching each other...while Lee and I go have a talk about what we're going to do here."

"Hey, you said you weren't going to turn us in," Glenn protested.

"And I meant that, but you still need some place to stay, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "Okay."

"Lee?"

"Yeah," he acknowledged and followed his wife back to the kitchen where they found Jamie finishing up with the groceries and neatly folding the now emptied paper bags.

"Jamie, thank you," Amanda praised her younger son. "You didn't have to do all this."

"Well, someone had to do it and you guys kinda' had your hands full." Jamie shrugged. "Besides, it was kinda' crowded in there."

"Yes, it was," Lee concurred. "I can understand why you wouldn't wanna' stick around."

"Sweetheart," Amanda said sweetly. "I really appreciate you doing all this stuff, but could you give Lee and me a moment alone to talk?"

"You're not gonna' argue again, are you?" he questioned worriedly.

"No, we're not. We just need to talk about our little situation here."

"Okay," Jamie nodded.

The moment he was out of earshot, Lee and Amanda spoke in unison, "We should let them stay."


	9. Scarecrow in Munchkinland

They both laughed. "Well, finally we agree on something," Lee teased.

"Oh, come on, Lee, we don't always disagree. We agreed on which house to buy, didn't we?"

"But not what to put in it," he countered.

"Right. Your stuff," she acknowledged. "We never did get to finish that talk, did we?"

"No, we didn't. I was just thinking when you were making all your lists that you seem to have forgotten all that stuff I've got in storage from the apartment. You've got cleaning out the garage, the attic, lists of stuff we can pack up ahead of time that doesn't get used regularly...hell, you've even got a plan for where to put everything in the new house and not a bit of it includes anything that's mine. I've got tons of stuff from my old place that there just wasn't room for in your house..." He paused as a new wave of grief hit him. "That's...uh...that's not to mention all the stuff that belonged to my parents that's been sitting in storage for years...you know...from the house we lived in when I was little and...and I-" He let out a deep sigh. "I'm starting to feel like I'm still on the outside looking in."

"Ohhh...Lee..." She reached for his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I am so, so sorry. When I was making those lists, it didn't even occur to me to include your folks' stuff. I...um...I know how painful it is for you to even talk about them so I thought..." She shook her head. "I guess it doesn't matter what I thought. I thought wrong."

Remembering his chat with Billy and how he'd reminded Lee that his wife is not a mind-reader, he replied, "It's not your fault. It's mine because you're right. I don't like to talk about my past. I guess it's like when I was talking about wedding plans and kids and houses...I didn't state specifically what I was thinking, so here it is. All that stuff from my mom and dad's...other than the stuff we found in that hidden room obviously...I've held onto it because I thought...I don't know...maybe someday when I had a home of my own, I'd want it."

"But you've lived on your own for years," she pointed out.

"A bachelor pad is not a home though," he countered. "I mean a real home with a family of my own. Now, I know some of the furniture is probably pretty outdated because it's from the 50s..."

"Well, how about we make a plan to go through those storage units after the holidays? I'm sure there are a few pieces we could use. After all, the new house does have a larger dining room and family room. Plus there's the rec room in the basement. Oh, and since Mother will have her own little apartment, maybe she could use some of the stuff from your old apartment like the loveseat and the armchairs. They would fit better up there than a full-sized sofa would and-" She stopped speaking abruptly. "And I'm doing it again...making plans without asking for your thoughts when it's your stuff. No wonder you accused me of being selfish."

"No, you're not. You're just being you and trying to make a plan and it's not a bad idea asking your mom if she wants the living room furniture from the apartment." He paused and gave her an apologetic look. "You know I didn't really mean it when I said you were selfish. I was just...thrown when you seemed so shocked that I wanted another kid and I-"

"I understand. I said some things I didn't really mean too." She smiled and teased, "So, is that why you want the kids to stay...because you still want another child?"

"No, I wasn't even really thinking about that. I just...I just saw that look on their faces when the little one..."

"Ivy," she reminded him.

"Right, Ivy," he nodded. "Well, when she said their parents were in heaven, I just couldn't help thinking of that first Christmas without my mom and dad before the Colonel came to get me. There I was, five years old, confused as hell, scared and alone in Dozier Hall surrounded by a bunch of other kids who was just as scared and confused and I-" He swallowed hard as he tried to shake off the bad memories. "I couldn't stand the thought of those kids going through the same thing I did."

"What makes you think it's their first Christmas without their parents? The older girl, Sunny...it seems like she's already accustomed to looking after her younger siblings like a surrogate mom."

"Maybe, but I know that look I saw on her face when she scolded her sister...the pain she was feeling...it's fairly new. My guess is less than a year."

"You may be right."

"Not only that, but I get the feeling something else is going on with her."

"Yeah? How so?"

"I had a talk with Phillip about how to approach girls since she was screaming about him touching her...you know, how a guy shouldn't touch a girl without her permission and all that and you know what he said?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

"He said he didn't. That he'd only introduced himself and reached out to shake her hand and that she pulled away and popped him in the jaw."

"Hmmm..."

"What?"

"I noticed when I tried to talk to Ivy how she snatched her up to keep her away from me, but also when she did it, she was very cautious about her sleeves."

"Her sleeves? I don't get it. What's the significance of that?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I did notice that she's wearing a rather fluffy pullover sweater and the sleeves on those tend to get bunched up pretty easily, exposing your skin underneath and when she picked Ivy up, she was very careful not to let that happen. I think she's hiding something...scars...or bruises maybe. When I caught that, I was worried that maybe the kids were being abused - you know, wherever they ran away from - and that's why I thought we should let them stay here with us. At least until we know more about what's going on. I mean, there's obviously a reason they ran away and were hiding out here."

"Yeah. God, I hope that's not the case. It's bad enough losing your parents young like that, but to be mistreated by adults who are supposed to caring for you too... Though it sure would go a hell of a long way to explaining why Sunny overreacted with Phillip."

"And why she doesn't trust us," Amanda added. "While you were talking to Phillip, she made a crack about grown-ups stabbing them in the back."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, that definitely doesn't sound good."

"I just wish we had a clue where they were...if they were staying with relatives...or in foster care...or a group home...or a bigger place like the one you were in when you were a kid. Surely, they've been reported to the local authorities as runaways. There can't be too many instances of three siblings taking off together. We drove by a sheriff's station on the way up here that's not too far away. Maybe one of could head back down there and make some inquiries."

"No," Lee argued adamantly. "That's the worst thing we could do right now. First, because you promised you wouldn't turn them in; second, because if there is a report about them, the first thing a local sheriff is going to do is march them right back where they were and we just agreed that whatever is going on doesn't sound right."

"You sound like you have a little experience with that. Did you run away from Dozier Hall?"

He nodded sheepishly. "Just once," he confessed. "I had just turned six and I was still in this...sort of denial about my parents being gone and I was determined that I was going to get back to my own house so I snuck out one night after bed check and started hitchhiking."

"You knew how to hitchhike at age six?" She laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Well, I'd seen it done on TV and in movies and stuff so I figured how hard could it be? In my immature six-year-old mind, I thought for sure someone would take pity on a lost little kid and take me home. And I had my home phone number and address drilled into my brain by my mom before I started school the year before so if something ever happened, I'd know how to let her know. Armed with that knowledge, I set off down the road on a mission to get back home."

"Did you ever get there?" She listened to his story with rapt attention. It was so rare that he ever talked about the death of his parents or his childhood in general and though they'd known each other for over four years, she felt like she was seeing a whole new side of him.

"Well, yes and no," he replied. "I probably walked about a mile or so before this grandmotherly lady picked me up and when I lied and told her I was lost, she readily agreed to take me home. But when we got there and the house was empty with a 'for sale' sign on the front lawn, she was sure I'd been abandoned and started crying about how sad it was that my parents didn't want me. Of course, I got mad then and told her off in my little kid way and demanded that she just call my mom and everything would be fine."

"So what happened next?"

"She drove us down the road to the nearest service station to use the payphone and of course, the number I had so carefully memorized was disconnected. After that, she had no other choice but to take me to the police station despite me crying and protesting that I didn't want to go there. I didn't tell her this, but all I could think about the police at that time was that they showed up at my house in the middle of the night to tell me my parents were never coming home again."

"That must have been terrifying for you," she offered sympathetically.

"Yeah, it was. Even though I didn't see it then, this nice little old lady really was just trying to help me. Then once we got there, she obviously learned the truth because the police had the whole report on the accident that killed my mom and dad. They contacted social services and found out that I was supposed to be in the orphanage because my uncle was buried under a pile of military red tape trying to make arrangements to take care of me."

"I always wondered why it took your uncle almost two years to take you in after your parents died."

"Yeah, it never really hit me until I was an adult just how much he went through. I was too lost in my own misery, kinda' like I was with this whole baby thing we've been debating about. I was too busy thinking about what I wanted to really listen to you. So, even though I accused you of being selfish, I was really the selfish one."

"To be honest, I think we were both being a little selfish. I think it's going to take us some time to really get over that when we've both been independent for so long." She squeezed his hand again, "But talking like this...sharing...it helps."

"Yeah," he agreed and leaned in for a kiss.

"So, I'm guessing your story ended with the police taking you back to Dozier Hall?"

"Yeah. The funny thing was they hadn't even noticed I was gone yet. As a kid, I couldn't help thinking they just didn't care to, but now...now I see it for what it really was. They just had too many kids to look after and not enough staff to do it, plus some of the staff couldn't think of any other form of discipline other than a good paddling. But there are places that are worse and that's what worries me if we start digging too deeply into this thing with these kids until we know more."

"Well, chances are good the local authorities are going to be swamped dealing with holiday travelers anyway," she reasoned. "Best not to add more to their plates with this at least until after Christmas." She changed gears as a thought struck her. "Oh, speaking of plates, now I'm going to have to figure out what to do for dinner with three more mouths to feed."

"I thought you wanted to do the tree thing before dinner," he reminded her.

"Yes, but we're going to have to adjust our plans a little bit now that we have these other children here." She gave him a teasing grin. "See? I'm not always so rigid."

"Okay, okay. I shouldn't have said that," he admitted. "Your need for keeping things neat and organized has saved my ass at the office more times than I can count."

She turned to peruse the contents of the refrigerator. "Hmmm...you know...there's a little mom-and-pop grocery store down the hill. Would you mind driving down there if I made you a list of what we need?"

"Another list," he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, since we both agreed the children should stay here with us, we can't let them go hungry, can we?"

"Well, of course not."

"Besides, it's starting to get dark outside anyway, so the tree can wait until tomorrow when we have plenty of daylight to see what we're looking at."

"Good point. Okay, make your list and I'll go. While you do that, I'm going to go see what the kids are up to. It's a little too quiet for my liking."

"Good thinking," she complimented him.

Lee returned to the room they'd initially met the orphans in and upon seeing only the two girls curled up on the bed with a book, he queried, "Where are the boys?"

"Outside." Sunny answered in a clipped tone. "Playing football or something with my brother."

"Whatcha' reading there?" He nodded to the book.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," she replied.

"That was one of my favorite books growing up," he told her.

"Well, it's the only one we have left from our parents." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Ivy likes it when I read it to her."

"You know..." he began a bit awkwardly. "At work, they...uh...they call me Scarecrow...sort of a nickname."

"'Cause you don't have a brain?" she responded flippantly.

He couldn't help laughing. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that joke. But seriously, I always liked that book as a kid because I was an orphan like Dorothy and raised by my uncle like her. I just didn't have an aunt like she did because my uncle never married."

Sunny sat up and looked at him in surprise. "You're an orphan too?"

"Yeah," he nodded sadly. "My...uh...my mom and dad died when I was only five."

"I'm five too!" Ivy chimed in cheerfully.

"Anyway," he continued. "I lost count of how many times I read the Oz books when I was a kid. My uncle did the best he could, but I always kinda' want to have these fun adventures like Dorothy did. Do you...um...do you like adventure too? Is that why you're here and not wherever you're supposed to be?"

Sunny stiffened and instead of answering his question, sniped in a hostile tone, "Well, you were lucky. You at least _had_ an uncle. We don't have anybody except each other."

 _Scratch relatives off the list of possibilities,_ he noted. "Well, you have us now," he reminded her. "And you can stay here with us for as long as you want."

"Sure. Fine. Whatever." she responded sullenly as she sank back onto the bed.

Lee let out a sigh wondering if there were anything else he could do to reach the teenage girl without causing her to distance herself even more. He thought back to Amanda reminding him of how he'd struggled with Alexi and couldn't figure out what his problem was. He shouldn't have this much difficulty relating to troubled kids when he'd been one himself. _But you know how hard you were to reach when you were young,_ a taunting inner voice reminded him. That also made him think of how challenging it had been for Amanda to reach him even as an adult. With that in mind, he decided that he'd pushed his luck with Sunny enough for now."Well, I'll...uh...I'll just let you get back to your book."


	10. Down the Yellow-Brick Road

"So, what are the kids up to?" Amanda inquired when Lee returned to the kitchen.

"Well, Phillip and Jamie went outside with the other boy...uh..."

"Glenn," she supplied. "You weren't in the room when I learned his name."

"Right," he nodded. "Anyway, Sunny said they went outside to play...to use her words 'football or something.'" He went on to detail the rest of his conversation with her and ended his story by letting out a dry chuckle.

"What?"

"I just find it so funny that her name is Sunny when her disposition is anything but," he laughed.

"Oh, come on. You can hardly blame her. We don't know all that much about them, but we do know they've had a rough time. You said yourself that you believe it's been less than a year since they lost their parents."

"Yeah, I guess. I...uh...I just wish I knew how to talk to her to get her to trust me." He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "Maybe you were right all along and I'm just not cut out for fatherhood."

"Sweetheart..." she began in a tone that was half-scolding, half-soothing. "I never said that. _You_ did. When I didn't immediately agree to have another baby, you went on the defensive and thought I thought that, but I never, ever thought any such thing. My hesitating about it has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"Okay, okay. You're right. You never did. That was all me, but you did bring up the trouble I had with Alexi and with Jamie," he pointed out. "And you weren't wrong and that just makes me wonder, what if it's true? What if I can't handle being a dad?"

"Lee, I know you and I know you can do anything you set your mind to. After all, you got through to Jamie once he realized that you weren't trying to take me away from him. As for Alexi, that wasn't your fault. He was under a tremendous amount of stress because he was afraid for his parents' lives and he was convinced that he was the only one who could keep them safe. I think it's something similar with Sunny. You said that she told you she and her siblings only had each other, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, that pretty much tells us that they don't have any other family they can depend on, so I imagine she feels like she's the only one who can take care of her brother and sister, especially since she made that comment to me about grown-ups."

"Well, if that's the case, we'll have to prove her wrong just like we did with Alexi," he replied with a determined nod. He then gestured to the notepad in her hand. "So, how's the list coming?"

"Oh, that's another funny thing; look what I found in the refrigerator." She opened the fridge, followed by the bottom crisper drawer. "See?"

Lee peered into the drawer his wife had pointed out and chuckled again when it saw that it was full of ice and two freshly-caught fish. "I'll be damned. I guess we didn't have to worry too much about the kids starving."

"Yeah, I couldn't help laughing when I saw it because one of your selling points from the brochure on this place was that they have year-round fishing for brook trout and you know how much the boys and I enjoy fishing."

"Huh." He shook his head with a laugh. "Apparently, so do these kids. So, maybe I don't need that list after all."

Amanda frowned. "I'm glad they're at least eating, but I hate to think of them only living on fish all this time."

"What do you mean, all this time? We don't even know for sure how long they've been hiding out here."

"Oh, I know, but it appears to have been awhile because they seemed pretty settled in, which means they've been fending for themselves for the whole time they've been here. I still think they need a real, well-balanced meal."

"Amanda, I was just teasing," he replied. "I said I'd make a run to the store and I will. I'm just curious how someone with your eye for detail overlooked it until just now."

"Because I wasn't the one who put everything away, remember? I was going to, but then we got sidetracked and Jamie did it while I was dealing with our surprise guests."

"Brrr...it's cold out there," Jamie commented as he and the other two boys came back inside to warm up shaking snow off their clothes.

"I'm starving!" Phillip proclaimed as he entered the kitchen. "Mom, when's dinner?"

Before Amanda could answer, they were interrupted by a loud, ""Hey!" from the doorway.

"What are you doing?" Sunny demanded hotly. "That's our dinner!" She stomped across the room and slammed the drawer closed. I froze my butt off this morning to catch those so we'd have something to eat!"

"No one's going to take them from you," Amanda assured her. "In fact, we were just talking about what we were going to have for dinner. We did bring some supplies with us. Lee here was just going to run to the store to get a few more things and we're happy to share what we have with you."

"We can take care of ourselves," she responded sullenly.

"Come on, Sunny," Glenn argued. "It would be nice to have something besides fish for dinner for a change."

"Yeah," Ivy chimed in and wrinkled her nose. "Fish is icky."

"See?" Glenn crowed. "Ivy's tired of fish too."

The older girl sighed. She had to admit that she was getting tired of trout dinners too, but she was only doing what she had to do to take care of her family without having to resort to stealing to do it.

"Please?" her brother pleaded.

"Yeah, okay," she finally relented. "BUT we're going to work for our keep," she insisted.

"That sounds fair," Amanda agreed. "How about this? Since you obviously know how to cook, you can help me in the kitchen while I fix dinner."

"Okay."

"But before we can do that, _someone_ needs to make that trip to the store," she shot her husband a pointed look as she tore off the top page from her notepad and handed it off to him.

"Message received," Lee responded as he went to retrieve his coat.

"While he's gone. I think the rest of us need to get unpacked and work out what the sleeping arrangements are going to be."

"Well, it's just a good thing I booked the 4-bedroom cabin, isn't it?" Lee teased his wife as he remembered their discussion about it.

"Okay, yes," she conceded. "Now, go on." She gave him a shove toward the front door.

"I'm going, I'm going."

As soon as Lee was out the door, she clapped her hands together authoritatively. "Okay, Kids. Let's get to work on those bedrooms." She commanded as she steered them in that direction. She gave a nod toward the one they'd found the girls in and said, "Now, since the girls have already pretty well camped out in this one, I don't see a need to move them when they're already comfortable. Now, that leaves two other rooms for the three boys."

"Lee promised Jamie and me we wouldn't have to share a room," Phillip protested when he saw where his mother was going.

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Since they're not supposed to be here anyway, why can't they all share a room?"

"For a couple of reasons," she replied. "First of all, I think Sunny and Glenn are a bit too old to be sharing a room. Putting boys and girls together is fine when they're little, but Sunny is..." She paused when she realized she didn't know just how old the kids were except the youngest since Lee had informed her of his chat with them. She nodded to the older girl. "How old _are_ you?"

"She's 13," Glenn informed Amanda knowing his sister wouldn't. "And I'm 9, almost 10."

"What does it matter?" Sunny shrugged. "We can share. We've done it before."

"Hmmm..." Amanda wondered if this wasn't the first time they'd run away and if they'd ended up in even worse places. She shook off that thought. "But still, this place is plenty big enough that you shouldn't have to."

"Well, Ivy's staying with me," Sunny insisted.

"Of course she is. I already suggested that. Now, that just leaves us to decide what to do with the boys and as I was saying to Phillip, the boy/girl thing is just one reason that you three shouldn't be sharing a room. Another is that it wouldn't be quite fair to put three kids in one room when there are three bedrooms that we can split up among the five of you."

"Look, we can just go," Sunny suggest sadly. "It's obvious your son doesn't want us here."

"I never said that," Phillip argued. "I tried to be nice to you when we first got here, remember?" He rubbed his sore jaw for emphasis. He then turned to his mother. "So, how about putting Glenn on the sofa in the living room?"

Amanda shook her head. "And put each of you in a big queen-sized bed by yourselves. I don't think that would be fair either."

"But it's not fair to us to have to share when Lee told us we wouldn't have to," Phillip countered.

Jamie, who'd been silently observing the back-and forth, finally piped up, "Glenn can share with me." He glowered at his brother. "That way Clark Kent here can be all alone in his Fortress of Solitude."

"Hey!" Phillip protested. "If anyone's Clark Kent around here, it's you, Four-eyes! Nerdiness and all."

"But that's just Superman's disguise," Jamie argued. "It's not really who he is, Stupid!"

"Knock it off with the name-calling, both of you!" their mother reprimanded them. She blew out a long breath to keep her cool. "Now, Jamie, are you sure you don't mind giving up having your own room?"

"I'm sure, Mom." He nodded to the younger boy. "Besides, Glenn's cool. We had a good time together."

Amanda smiled as she reflected back on her younger son's desire to be a big brother and wondered if that was where his selflessness was coming from. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"Yeah, Glenn's got a great arm! I couldn't believe how fast he could throw a football."

Glenn flushed slightly, looking a little embarrassed at the compliment. "I've had some practice." He shrugged as his face clouded over with hints of sadness. "I used to be a pitcher on my Little League team. Throwing a football's not that much different."

Amanda caught his change in facial expression and changed the subject back to the matter at hand. "Okay, then. Now that it's all settled who's sharing a room, why don't you two..." She indicated her sons."...finally go get unpacked and settled into your rooms while Sunny and I get started on dinner?"

"I thought we had to wait until your husband got back," Sunny inserted.

"For the main stuff, yes, but we've got enough in there to get started on a salad."

As they started to walk toward the kitchen, Ivy wrapped one arm around her sister's legs as she clutched _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ in the other. "Read," she pleaded.

"Ivy, we just finished reading the whole thing for like the hundredth time," Sunny reminded her as she rolled her eyes. "Besides, I promised I'd help with dinner."

Glenn took Ivy by the hand. "I'll read it to you...again," he offered with a resigned sigh and led her into the living room.

"Good," Amanda said as she and Sunny strolled back toward the kitchen. "So, since you obviously know how to clean and filet a fresh fish, I'm guessing you can handle chopping vegetables." She reached into a drawer for a knife.

"Sure. My mom taught me how to do a lot of stuff in the kitchen," she answered as a flicker of fresh pain flitted over her face and took the knife from Amanda.

Amanda gazed at the young teen and her heart ached for her, wishing she could somehow take her pain away. "It's a good skill to have. You know, my older boy Phillip took a cooking class in school last year. He's actually getting to be pretty good in the kitchen too," she told the girl as the pair set to work.

Sunny nodded. "Glenn knows some stuff too and he helps me sometimes, but mostly he takes care of Ivy while I cook.

"I noticed." She gave a slight nod toward the living room where he was sitting on the sofa with their baby sister. "So, he said he used to pitch? He doesn't anymore?"

Sunny shook her head. "How can he when there's no one to pay for it anymore?"

"Right." Amanda sighed, a wave of guilt washing over her. She should have known better than to ask. While she'd struggled as a single parent to keep her boys involved in their activities so they never felt deprived, it hadn't even occurred to her that it would be even more challenging for these kids who didn't have even one parent.

They lapsed into silence for a moment with Amanda occasionally glancing Sunny's way in an attempt to ascertain her mood. "You're left-handed," she commented.

"Yeah, so?"

"Lee is too," she replied in an attempt to find some kind of connection between her family and theirs. As she watched, she couldn't help noticing Sunny struggling a bit due to the bulky sweater she wore. She set down her own knife and reached to help her. "Your sleeve keeps flopping over your hand. Why don't we just get it out of your way?"

"No!" she girl yelped as she hastily covered up her left arm, but not before Amanda caught a glimpse of the ugly scar that covered the girl's forearm. Sunny dropped the knife abruptly and ran from the room.


	11. Scar Face-Off

_That explains a lot,_ Amanda thought as she hurried after Sunny.

"What happened?"Glenn asked in concern stopping Amanda in her tracks. "Is she okay?"

She smiled brightly. "Yeah, I think I just scared her a little," she replied, her mind reflecting back to how the teen had overreacted to Phillip's attempt to shake her hand earlier. "But I'll just go talk to her. I'm sure it will be okay."

"Maybe I should talk to her," he suggested.

"No, you just stay here and keep reading to Ivy. I'm the one who messed things up, so I'm the one who needs to make it right." She hurried off to the girls' bedroom where she was sure Sunny had run, but then paused when she got there, hand poised to knock. As she thought about it, she debated if knocking was the right thing to do or if she should just go on in. Either way, she was risking trouble. If she did the courteous thing by knocking, Sunny would most likely tell her to go away and if that happened, she wouldn't feel right not respecting her wishes if she were trying to model good behavior. On the other hand, if she just walked on in, the girl was likely to feel that her space was being invaded and she might clam up even more. She let out a sigh and decided it was worth the risk because she didn't want her running away again where she and her little family would be on their own again. She pushed open the door with a soft, "Sunny? Can we talk?"

"Go away. I don't wanna' talk!" She folded her arms across her chest and flung herself backwards onto the bed.

Amanda nodded. "I know how that can be. My younger boy, Jamie, gets like that sometimes. And sometimes when he doesn't want to talk, I just do all the talking and sometimes that helps him feel better."

"Whatever," Sunny muttered as she stared straight up at the ceiling.

"Okay, listen, I think we both know now why you reacted the way you did when you hit Phillip earlier. You were afraid he'd see the scar on your arm, maybe even make fun of you for it. I know sometimes kids can be mean about things like that."

"Yeah," She admitted with a shrug.

"I understand what it's like to have a big scar like that that you want to hide," she informed her as she sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

"What do you know about it?" Sunny questioned and looked up at Amanda with a defiant stare.

"I have a big, ugly scar that's still healing too."

"Huh, you look fine to me."

"Well, that's because, just like you, I can hide it underneath my clothes if I want to." She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and tugged at her left bra strap to slide it aside just enough to show the girl who own scars. "See?"

"So? You can at least hide yours better."

"Not always. You see, this is only a small part of it." She gestured downward to the bottom of her ribcage. "It goes down to here and all the way through to my back."

"Wow."

"Yeah. All summer long when Lee and I would take Phillip and Jamie to the beach, it was...well, it was a little difficult for me because I didn't feel comfortable wearing a bathing suit. I wanted to spend time with my boys playing and you know, splashing around in the water with them, but it's..."

"It's hard to let people see how ugly you are," she commiserated with her.

Amanda nodded. "It is. Not only that, but I have half a closet full of pretty dresses that I don't think I'll ever wear again because they have either a plunging neckline or a low back; sometimes both. So, you see, I do understand." She buttoned her blouse back up.

"So...uh...what happened to you? To leave those scars, I mean?"

"I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you my story, if you tell me yours." She gestured to Sunny's left arm. When the girl shook her head, Amanda knew she'd pushed just a little too much, but she'd at least gotten her to open up a little. That was progress. "Okay. You don't have to, but I still could use some help in the kitchen if you're up for it."

"Yeah. Okay. I did promise I would."

Amanda smiled warmly at her. "Good, let's get back to work then."

As they walked back through the living room together, Amanda paused when she saw Jamie talking to Glenn with a handful of books.

"Here," Jamie offered. "I thought maybe you could use these 'cause you seemed kinda' bored with the same book."

"Thanks," Glenn replied gratefully. "I am."

Amanda smiled at her son's generosity and walked on to leave the children to their conversation.

When they reached the kitchen, Sunny commented, "That was really nice of him. I mean, I like reading to Ivy since my mom's not around to do it anymore, but when it's the same book over and over again..."

"I know that feeling too," Amanda told her. "When Jamie was...I don't know...about six or so, his favorite book was _Bunnicula._ I can't even count how many times I read it to him and every time we'd finish it, he'd want to start it all over again."

"Sounds like Ivy," Sunny nodded. "She can read a little, but just little kid books with small words, not big chapter books or anything, but we-" She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, blinking back tears.

"Lee said you told him that was the only book you had left from your mom and dad," Amanda said gently. "That must be hard, losing everything you ever had. I can't even imagine that."

"It's hard, but there's nothing I can do to change it," the girl countered, her tough facade firmly back in place.

"I know you can't." _But maybe we can,_ Amanda thought.

"I'm back!" Lee called as he walked in from the living room carrying grocery bags.

"Just in time," Amanda replied as she greeted him with a quick kiss. "We've just about got the salad ready to go. Sunny, are you still going to be my kitchen helper?"

"Can I help too?" Phillip inquired as he walked into the room. "I like cooking."

"Sure..." She smiled at Sunny. "That is, if Sunny doesn't mind since she was here first helping out."

"As long as he keeps his hands to himself," the girl replied.

"Right back atcha'" Phillip countered with a gesture to the bruise that had formed on his face.

"How about you both agree to keep your hands to yourselves and I think we'll all get along just fine?" Amanda interjected.

"Good plan," Lee concurred as he finished unpacking the groceries.

"Oh, Lee, Sweetheart, I hate to ask since you just got back, but would you mind doing me another favor? With taking care of getting all the kids situated, I still haven't had a chance to get our stuff unpacked."

"I got it," he readily agreed. "Looks like you're gonna' have your hands full in here so it's the least I can do." He leaned in for another quick kiss and then whispered in her ear, "We need to have a talk about the orphans." When Amanda responded with a questioning eyebrow, he hissed, "Later."

While Amanda was burning with curiosity as her husband walked away, she couldn't very well ask for more information with the three orphaned children nearby. Besides, she knew she needed to get dinner on the table for all of them. She pasted on a cheerful smile and began assigning jobs to the pair of teenagers. "Okay, here's what we need to do..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that evening once dinner was over, Sunny immediately jumped up to start cleaning up. "You don't have to do that," Amanda protested.

"I said we'd earn our keep and I meant it," the teen argued back. "We're not some charity case just 'cause we had some bad luck."

Lee jumped to his feet. "Let me help since I didn't help with the cooking," he offered hoping it would give him another chance to reach out to the melancholy teen. He'd already noticed just how much she was like he used to be, hiding her pain and fear behind a mask of false bravado and sarcasm.

"I've got it," she insisted, but then in a softer tone, added, "Thanks anyway."

"You shouldn't have to do the cleanup for seven people all by yourself," Jamie chimed in. "I'm going to help you." He shot her a stern look that said he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Fine," the girl conceded.

"But I offered first," Lee protested.

"You know what, Sweetheart?" Amanda jumped in. "That's okay. You and I said we were going to take a walk after dinner anyway, didn't we? You know, just the two of us." She gave him a pointed look.

"Oh, right." He knew that look on her face all too well. She wasn't about to be kept waiting any longer.

"Phillip, you and Sunny can hold down the fort while we're gone, you know, look after the younger children and all."

"Sure," her older son shrugged.

Lee and Amanda put their coats on and stepped outside. "A walk, Amanda?" Lee questioned. "It's freezing out here."

"I know, but it's the only way to make sure we won't be overheard by any of the kids." As they walked a little farther away from their temporary vacation home, she queried in a worried tone, "So, what did you mean when you said we needed to talk about the orphans? After all the trouble we went to to get things arranged for them to stay here, you haven't changed your mind, have you? I mean, we can hardly throw them out into the cold, can we?"

"No, Amanda, I'm not suggesting we do that, but I think I may have been wrong about not contacting the local police." He pulled out a folded up flyer from his coat pocket. "This was hanging up at the grocery store."

Amanda recognized the format of the flyer. It was the standard one often posted to help find missing children. She only half-glanced at it before asking, "Well, this isn't exactly a surprise, Lee. We already figured they might have been reported as runaways."

"Look at it closely," he requested. "Not 'they.' That's just for the little one...Ivy. She was reported missing three days ago. And I made a casual inquiry with the cashier who waited on me...you know to see if she knew any of the details."

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do that," Amanda admonished him. "Not until we knew more about what happened to them."

"Relax, Amanda. Like I said, it was just a causal inquiry. I have learned a thing or two from you about how to make it look like I'm just making conversation and you know, tugging on the heartstrings. I made a comment to the cashier about how sad it was for someone to lose their child right before Christmas and she pretty much did the rest."

"Okay, I'm listening. What did she say?"

"Apparently, the people who reported her missing are friends of a friend of hers and they were having trouble having kids of their own so they were doing this fostering-to-adopt program. Anyway, it turns out they'd had Ivy in their custody for only a couple of days..."

"Only Ivy?" She frowned at that thought, her mind drifting back to what she'd told him about older kids being overlooked.

"Yeah, and they haven't seen her since."

"Do you...you think she ran away from her foster parents to try to find her brother and sister...you know like you did when you were little trying to get back to your mom and dad?"

He shook his head. "No, it's worse than that," he explained, a grim expression on his face. "The same day they reported her missing, they made a separate report with the local sheriff that their house had been broken into because the lock on the backdoor had been broken the night she disappeared."

"So, that means..."

"Yeah, they think she's been kidnapped and if we don't do something about this, they might think we're responsible," he finished.


	12. Truth or Dare

As Lee's words sank in, Amanda wrapped her arms around herself, not from the chill of the cold, but the feeling of misery that crept over her. Through her volunteer work, she's seen similar situations, but not one that seemed quite this hopeless. Her heart ached for these children and all they'd been though and she worried now more than ever about what they might still have yet to endure.

"Amanda...?" his voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Yeah, I heard," she replied dismally. "So...uh...with this new information, plus what you said about Sunny saying they only had each other, we can be pretty sure that the older children are responsible for Ivy's disappearance."

"Yeah, but my question is where were the older kids before this? And why wasn't there some kind of report for them?"

"That's the trouble, we don't really know where they came from," Amanda said sadly. "But we also don't know that there isn't a report..." She unfolded her arms and tapped the paper she still held. "Or a poster just like this one for them..." She paused as reflected for a moment on her boy-girl conversation when assigning rooms to the kids. "Or maybe two separate ones."

"Right," Lee nodded in understanding. "Because not all places house both boys and girls. The one I was in didn't...it was all boys."

"Yeah, so it's possible the police haven't made a connection between all three of the missing kids yet."

"Or it's possible that it's like when I ran away...they just haven't noticed the older kids are gone," Lee suggested. "Or maybe worse. Maybe they know they ran away and just haven't bothered to report it. Those places aren't all Bing Crosby and Mickey Rooney, you know."

"I know that, but it's also not all Little Orphan Annie at the mercy of a drunken Carol Burnett either," she countered.

"You lost me on that one," he replied in confusion. "Since when is Carol Burnett a drunk?"

"Well, not really her. It was her character in the movie."

"What movie?"

"Annie," she answered. "I took the boys to see it when it first came out and Carol Burnett was this alcoholic matron at the orphanage Annie lived in. She made the girls do all the cooking and cleaning and locked them in closets and threatened to beat them and-" She paused as she recalled the scars she's seen on Sunny's arm, wondering if it actually _was_ that bad.

Noticing her change of expression, Lee questioned, "What is it?"

"Well, everything was so chaotic when you got back I didn't get a chance to tell you what happened while you were gone." She outlined her encounter with Sunny and concluded with, "I didn't get a good look because she covered herself up so fast and ran off, but at first glance, they looked like burn scars."

"We've sure seen enough of those with all the times we've been blown up," he joked morbidly.

"Yeah, but as I said, I didn't get a really good look, so maybe they're something else. Whatever caused them, it's something very painful for her to talk about and they seemed fairly fresh too, like she's still healing."

"So, you think whatever happened to her happened after the kids lost their parents?"

"I just don't know because we really don't know just how long ago that was."

"Then I say it's time we get some answers," he stated adamantly. "I mean, we're professionals at this, asking questions and getting answers."

"But this is different, Lee. We're talking about wounded children here, not some Russian spy that we can interrogate or manipulate into telling us the truth."

He shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. Amanda, you're the best I've ever seen at the Class C interrogation and I'd say that's exactly what this situation needs...a soft touch."

"I already tried that, remember? I was hoping that showing her my own scars would help her to feel more comfortable opening up and you said you did the same thing when you told her you were an orphan and it did no good."

"Well, there's got to be some card we haven't played yet."

"Whatever it is, we need to figure it out soon." She waved the flyer at him.

He took the paper from her and suggested, "Maybe this is it."

"You don't mean confront her with it? I don't think that's a good idea. That's likely to just make her want to run again and that would be the worst thing possible. At least if they're here with us, we know they're safe and cared for and if they ran, I-"

"Amanda, just listen to me for a second, huh?" When she nodded, he completed his thought, "I wasn't suggesting confronting Sunny with it. You're right, she'd only want to run. I was thinking...have you noticed how Glenn mostly goes along with what his big sister says, but he doesn't seem too happy about it?"

"Oh, right. While you were talking to Phillip, he told her to shut up."

"Yeah, and he argued with her about the fish dinner," Lee added. "I was just thinking, we've both seen how Phillip and Jamie get when they're locking horns. They can't wait to tattle on each other."

"You're thinking of using some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry against them." She smiled. "Hmm...it could work. He definitely seems like he wants to open up, but Sunny won't let him...or maybe he's afraid that she'll be mad at him if he does. He also seemed awfully worried about us turning them in. So, how do you think we should approach this?"

"Divide and conquer," he replied. "You've already got a bit of an in with Sunny because of the sharing scars thing and I could use the fact that I spent time in a boys' home to try to reach Glenn. If what we were thinking is right and they were in separate places, it just might work."

"Okay, let's give it a shot," she agreed as she took his hand. Lee shoved the battered flyer back into his pants pocket as they talked out their plan of attack on the walk back to the cabin.

They were pleasantly surprised to find that things seemed peaceful in their absence. The TV was on with _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ playing and all the kids watching it, Jamie and the girls on the sofa while Phillip and Glenn were sprawled on the floor in front of the television _._

"They're playing your song," Amanda teased her husband as they pulled their coats off and hung them up.

"Ha ha," he replied dryly.

"Slight change of plans," she whispered. "Just follow my lead."

"Okay-ay," he responded skeptically, but as Billy had pointed out, following her instincts had never led him down the wrong path before.

"Boy, that song sure is right, isn't it?" Amanda commented in a louder tone as they joined the children. "That Grinch sure is a mean one, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's a big ol' meanie," Ivy chimed in.

"But he learns his lesson in the end," Sunny pointed out with a nod to her sister. "You know, that Christmas isn't about trees or presents, but about being with the ones you love."

"Absolutely," Amanda agreed with a smile toward the girl. She couldn't be totally lost to bitterness and pain if she got that message. "Is...uh...is that why you guys were hiding out here? So you could all spend Christmas together?"

"Sure," she shrugged.

Amanda shot a knowing glance to Lee who nodded his understanding in response. They'd come to the same conclusion; that the kids had run away to make sure they could be together for Christmas.

They sat in silence until the show concluded and Amanda piped up, "Okay, guys. It's getting late. I think it's about time to get ready for bed."

She was met with the usual protests from her own boys. "But we're on vacation," and "We don't have school tomorrow," but she shook her head firmly and reiterated, "I mean it. Bed time. Now, you'll have to take turns with the bathrooms. Jamie, since you helped with the dishes, why don't you go first in the one bathroom and Sunny can have the other and I'll help Ivy." When Jamie immediately took off for the bathroom and the other two boys headed off in the direction of their bedrooms, she gave Lee a pointed look, hoping he'd get her message.

"I can take care of Ivy." Sunny argued.

"Oh, I know you can and from what I've seen, you do a really good job of it. I just thought you might like to have a moment to yourself. As a mom, I know how tiring it can be to be looking after children all the time and how sometimes, you just need a break. After all, you've done a lot today, the fishing and reading to Ivy and helping me with dinner, then doing the cleanup. It might be nice if you could just relax by yourself for a little bit, maybe take a nice long bath." She watched as the teen's facial expression changed from one of belligerence to one of relief.

Sunny nodded. "Yeah...I...um...I guess I could use a break."

"Oh and you know what? I've got some bubble bath I brought with me," Amanda informed her with a bright smile. "You're welcome to use some of it if you'd like."

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up.

"Sure, I'll just go get it for you."

While Amanda headed for the master bedroom, Lee followed behind Glenn and lightly tapped on the open door. "Hey there," he greeted him. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," the boy replied. "What's up?"

Lee entered the room and closed the door. "Well, I was hoping we could have a little talk, you know, to get to know each other better since we're all going to be here together for several more days." _I hope,_ he added.

Glenn eyed him warily. "What do you wanna' know? My sister gets kinda' mad if we tell strangers stuff."

"Well, we're not really strangers anymore...are we? I mean, I know you don't know us very well yet, but we all had dinner together and talked a little and watched TV together, kinda' like a family."

"But you have your own family and I have mine."

"Oh, I know, but for at least the rest of the week, we're going to be sharing our families, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," the boy replied uncertainly.

"Besides, I wasn't just talking about me getting to know you, but you getting to know me too. Then maybe I won't seem like so much of a stranger to you."

"Sure," Glenn replied with a shrug.

"Did Sunny tell you what I told her earlier? You know, that I was an orphan too?" When the boy shook his head, Lee continued, "Well, I was, so I understand what that can be like. After my parents died, I spent two years of my life in a boys' home where they didn't really seem all that equipped to deal with a bunch of lost, scared little boys."

"Boy, do I know what _that's_ like."

"The big difference is that I was younger than you. I was about Ivy's age when my folks died and I didn't have any brothers or sisters like you do."

"That's a bummer," Glenn replied sympathetically. "I bet you were confused like Ivy is. She just doesn't quite get that Mom and Dad are gone. Sunny and me, we tried to explain it to her, but she just doesn't understand and it just got worse when-" He broke off abruptly as he thought of how his big sister would react if he shared too much.

"When what?" Lee probed gently. "Did something happen?" He wondered if he should show the boy the flyer he'd found as a way to let him know, he knew more than the kids thought he did, but then decided against it. What if that made the child clam up even more?

"I...uh..." He shook his head. "No. I shouldn't talk about it. Sunny'll pulverize me."

"Well, how about we keep it between just us guys then? I won't say a word to your sister."

"Really?" He gazed at Lee skeptically. "You swear you won't tell her?"

"Cross my heart," Lee promised. "It's not her business what you and I talk about. She's not the boss of you, right?"

"How come you wanna' know so bad anyway? No other grown-ups seem to care."

"Maybe because I was an orphan too so I know what it's like when no one understands or cares what you're going through and having nobody to talk to about it. So, really it's not so much that I want to know that badly as much as I care that you can get things off your chest."

"And you won't turn us in?"

"Nope. We already said you could stay with us for as long as we're here," he reminded him. Finally, the boy relaxed a bit and smiled at Lee. He took this as a cue to proceed and prodded, "So, you were saying...about Ivy?"

"Oh yeah. She doesn't understand that our parents are just...gone."

"I can relate to that," Lee inserted sympathetically when he sensed Glenn hesitating again.

"Yeah?"

"Sure can." He related the story he'd told Amanda about running away at age 6.

"Wow, did you get in trouble?"

"Not really. They hadn't even figured out yet that I was gone, but when my uncle finally came and got me, I got one hell of a lecture from him about how dangerous it was for a little kid to be running around on their own."

"Sometimes it's more dangerous to stay put."

"How do you mean?" Lee pressed.

Letting out a deep sigh, the nine-year-old finally confessed, "Some people took Ivy away from the girls' home she was staying at with Sunny. They said they wanted to maybe adopt her, but they lied. They just want the money they get for being foster parents."

"How do you know that for sure?" He remembered what the cashier had told him about the couple not being able to have their own children. "Maybe they really did want to adopt her."

"No they didn't. If they really cared, they wouldn't have hurt her like they did."


	13. Poisoned Ivy

Lee's eyes widened at Glenn's pronouncement. "What do you mean they were hurting her? If you weren't there, how do you know?"

"Because the place I was staying...well, they actually acted like they cared more than the other place where my sisters were and they let me visit her the second day she was there. They woulda' let me visit my sisters at the girls' home too 'cause when they can, they try to work with other placed for kids like us to keep families together if they move on to foster care. But the one the girls were in didn't and they didn't allow visitors unless it's someone wanting to foster or adopt the girls there. They were more about just trying to get rid of the kids they had by sending them off to foster homes 'cause they got more girls than they have room for. They don't give a crap about keeping families together."

"But if the foster parents really were hurting you little sister, why would they let you visit?"

The boy shrugged. "I think it was 'cause they couldn't get her to stop crying, 'specially at night. She didn't wanna' be there without Sunny because she was scared. Since it woulda' been a pain for them to get Sunny out of her place without having to wait a long time, I think they thought I could help, so they set it all up and the man even came and got me. When I got there, I went to hug Ivy and she kinda'...I don't know...whimpered a little like she was hurt."

Lee finally pulled the flyer from his pocket and inquired, "Is that what this is all about?"

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't gonna' turn us in," the boy said in an accusing tone.

"I'm not. I just wanna' know what happened. I saw this when I was shopping and I found out that there's a police report out there." He went on to explain what he'd learned.

"Figures," Glenn grumbled. " _They_ hurt my sister and want me to look like the bad guy when they're the bad guys."

"Why would you look like a bad guy?"Lee probed, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. He was wondered if the kid would own up to it.

"'Cause I'm the one who broke the backdoor. I had to get her out of there so they couldn't hurt her anymore," he insisted.

"Why didn't you go to the police yourself?"

"Oh sure, like that would do any good. It'd just be some dumb kid's word against the grown-ups. They always treat kids like they're stupid."

"Not me. I don't think you're stupid at all, but I do think you made a dumb mistake because now the police think Ivy's been kidnapped."

"Rescuing someone is _not_ kidnapping!"

"Maybe not from your point of view, but the police see it a little differently. I know you thought you were just doing what was best for your little sister, but if you didn't feel you could go to the police, why didn't you tell someone at the boys' home?"

"Because it takes too long for them to do something about it when it's not one of their kids."

Lee nodded and switched gears when he realized he wasn't going to get around kid logic on that issue. "So, if you're the one who rescued Ivy, how did Sunny get involved if she was in a different place? I mean, how'd you all end up here together?"

"Oh, that. Sunny's stupid and runs away all the time. That's why they put her in that place with stricter rules. They did have us all in the same place at first...one of those bigger ones where they have boys and girls on separate floors, but still in the same house, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the kind you mean. Go on."

"Well, the last time Sunny ran away when they said they were gonna' split us up, we decided that no matter what, we'd be together for Christmas. So, we made a plan for where to meet and when."

"That makes sense, but there's one thing I'm confused about. If it was just Sunny running away, I can understand why they'd want her in a place that's harder to do that in, but why did they split the rest of you up?"

"Because of Ivy," he explained. "Same thing like I told you about with her foster parents. Once Sunny was gone, she wouldn't stop crying at night because she was scared to be all alone and they wouldn't let me be with her because of the rule about boys and girls on separate floors."

"You ran away too, didn't you?"

He nodded. Hearing Lee tell his story about running away when he was only six gave him courage to tell his own. "Yeah. I took Ivy with me and started hitchhiking. It was kinda' like your story from when you were a kid. Even though I lied about where we were s'posed to be, the people who picked us up still figured it out and took us right back, so they put Ivy in the same place with Sunny thinking it might keep her calm if they were together and sent me to the boys' home. But it's stupid 'cause they don't even try to understand why she gets so scared at night."

"Does it have anything to do with why Sunny has those scars on her arm?" When Glenn looked at him in surprise, he explained, "Amanda saw them when she was helping with dinner."

Glenn nodded in understanding. That explained why his sister had been so upset earlier. He made a sour face and shook his head. "I...uh...I can't talk about that. Sunny would really kill me."

"She doesn't have to know," Lee pressed, hoping that he gained enough of the child's trust for him to keep going.

"I...uh...I-"

Their conversation was interrupted by Jamie entering the room. "Hey, Glenn, the bathroom's all yours," he informed the younger boy.

 _Dammit,_ Lee swore internally, but still he smiled at his stepson. "You all ready for bed?"

"Yep," Jamie nodded.

"Well, then I guess I'd better go see what your brother is up to. "You know how he gets if we don't keep on him."

He left the two boys alone and as he re-entered the hallway, he couldn't help thinking about the desperate situation these kids were in. He believed Glenn when he said the foster parents were hurting Ivy. While he'd never been in that situation himself, he'd seen plenty of kids who had been, but he worried that if they reported it, those kids would be right back where they started, in separate group homes and unlikely to ever see each other again.

He let out a sigh, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as his mind turned it over and over. He knew all too well from seeing it in the boys' home he'd been in that it was rare that orphaned siblings were kept together if they were sent to foster care or adopted. "But why couldn't we keep them together?" he questioned aloud. Amanda had suggested adopting an older child, the kind who fell through the cracks of the system. She hadn't suggested three, but they were buying that big house where they'd have plenty of room for them, so it could definitely work. Now, the question was how to get his wife to consider it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While Lee was having his heart-to-heart with Glenn, Amanda was still trying to earn Sunny's trust. "Here you go," she said cheerily as she handed her the promised bubble bath. "Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to add a little to the master bath too for Ivy. I figured while you're relaxing, I'd help her get a bath and I thought she'd enjoy the bubbles too."

"You don't have to. I'll do it...get her bath first, then take mine," Sunny countered.

Amanda caught onto the torn look on the girl's face. She wanted the time to herself and to enjoy the bubble bath, but for some reason also didn't want Amanda helping with Ivy.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Amanda replied. "Besides, with 7 people and 3 bathrooms, we need to use them as efficiently as possible..." She wondered if Sunny were protesting because Ivy had similar scars to her own. Was that why'd they'd run away? "...Unless there's something else you don't want me to know." She nodded to the girl's left arm "Did she get hurt like you did?" At seeing her flinch, Amanda quickly added, "You don't have to tell me what happened and I won't pressure you to tell me anything you're not comfortable with, but I am a little worried about all of you."

Finally Sunny heaved a deep sigh and nodded. "She got hurt, but not like me. It was different."

Amanda saw a flash of anger flit across the teen girl's face combined with a guilty look she'd seen on her husband's face too many times to count. "Listen, I know you think it's your job to protect your little sister and your brother, but you can't always protect them from everything."

"But if I don't do it, who will?"

"Well, how about us? Lee and me, I mean. We're pretty good at protecting people."

"Maybe, but you're just here for Christmas, right? Then you're going back where you belong."

"That's true," Amanda agreed. "But that's still a week away so how about for right now, you let someone else help a little? You've taken on a lot of grown-up responsibility and I respect that, but you _are_ still allowed to be a kid yourself...have a little fun."

She clutched the bottle of bubble bath tightly and gave Amanda a slight smile. "I will," she promised. "And by the way, Ivy does love bubbles." She then turned toward the empty hallway bathroom.

"Come on, Ivy, let's go get you in the tub," she called to the younger girl.

"Coming," the little girl called back as she ran to meet Amanda who took her by the hand and led her into the master bath. "Bubbles!" she squealed excitedly when she saw the bathwater Amanda had made for her.

Amanda smiled. "I thought you might like that. Now, let's get you undressed. You probably need a little help with the buckles on your overalls."

"I can do it. I'm a big girl," she protested as she struggled with the buckles.

"Well, I'm a big girl too, but I still sometimes have to have Lee help me with zippers if they're on the back of my dress."

"You do?" Ivy's eyes widened in surprise as she paused in her task.

"Sure, I do. And my boys had a little trouble with these when they were younger too. We all need a little help sometimes." She couldn't help laughing a bit that Ivy seemed to have adopted a little of her sister's independent streak.

Ivy tried one more time and gave up with an overly dramatic sigh. "Okay, you do it."

"Okay," Amanda agreed and made quick work of slipping the buckles out of their loops. "All done. Can you manage the rest by yourself?"

The girls nodded and was doing all right until she tried to pull her sweater over her head and got it stuck. "I'll help you," Amanda offered and gave the sweater a gentle tug to pull it over Ivy's head. "Okay, all done. Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Amanda's smile soon became a frown when Ivy turned to climb into the tub and she spotted the green-ish bruises on her back. She wasn't sure what she'd expected when Sunny had told her that Ivy had been hurt, but it certainly hadn't been seeing bruises that looked only a few days old. She shook her head as she recalled that Ivy had been reported missing three days ago by her foster parents and that they'd had her for two days. She'd seen her boys getting banged up enough playing sports that she knew from experience that that was just about the right amount of time for a bruise to be that color. _But that's no sports injury,_ she thought miserably.

"What happened to your back? That looks like it hurts."

"Fell down," the girl replied as she settled into the tub and immediately began playing with the bubbles.

Amanda snorted at her response. She knew from her work with kids that was the standard response kids were taught to give when being abused and it very rarely turned out to be true, especially not bruises like that and located where they were across her lower back. This was done by someone who was skilled at knowing just where to hit somebody without leaving any obvious sign of it. No wonder the older kids had broken into the foster parents' home to take Ivy away and it definitely explained why they'd been so afraid she'd turn them in.

She shook off those nagging thoughts and turned her attention to the task at hand. "Let's get your hair washed," she said as she reached for the shampoo bottle. "Since my boys are older, I don't have any kid's shampoo, so I'm going to need you to close your eyes, okay?"

"'Kay."

"It's too bad I don't have any bathtub toys for you to play with," Amanda mused as she continued with her task. "I used to have a ton of them in the bathroom at home, but my boys have gotten a little too old for them now."

"That's okay. I like playing with the bubbles," Ivy said cheerfully as she scooped up a handful of them and blew at them to watch them float away.

"Be careful until I'm done washing your hair. We don't want to get it in your eyes."

The rest of Ivy's bath time passed without incident, but it had gotten Amanda's already busy mind working overtime as she helped her get dressed for bed. She wondered if she and Lee should file their own report about the abuse Ivy had obviously suffered, but then also wondered if that would put the kids in a worse position by revealing their location. At the same time, she couldn't help thinking of how both Lee and her mother had reminded her of her long-ago desire for a little girl of her own, which was starting to come back to her with caring for these children. That thought then led her back to the subject of adoption she and Lee had discussed. Why couldn't they solve both their problem and the orphans' by adopting _them_? Then the kids could stay together and she and Lee could put the baby topic on hold indefinitely. She just wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Lee when he seemed to want a child of his own so badly.


	14. Mama's Boys

Lee was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear Phillip coming out of his room until he heard his voice asking if he was okay.

"Oh...uh...yeah. Fine. I was just...thinking."

"About the orphans? Me too," Phillip said. "It's pretty sad, huh? I just wish we could do something about it."

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "Listen, I need to go talk to your mom about this whole thing so we can figure out what to do, but do me a favor, will ya'?"

"What's that?"

"Go kinda' easy on them. They haven't had an easy life."

"I know. I feel lousy for them."

"Me too, Chief. Me too." He walked off in search of his wife leaving his older stepson alone with his thoughts.

"Your dad's kinda' cool," Glenn told Jamie while Lee was out in the hall.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, he is, but he's not actually my dad."

"He's not?" the younger boy questioned in confusion. "He acts like your dad."

"No, he doesn't," Jamie snorted in disgust. "I mean, he acts like a dad or at least he tries to, but he acts a whole lot better than my real dad. My dad's just...he's stupid. He does all this dumb stuff like buying Phillip and me fancy presents or taking us on big trips when all we really want is for him to pay attention to us and act like he cares. Lee asks about our day when we get home from school and he does stuff with us, not just the big stuff either, but he comes to our school plays and ball games and-" He broke off when he saw Glenn's face fall. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. It's kinda' hard on you that you can't do that stuff anymore, huh?"

The younger boy nodded sadly. "Yeah, I miss that stuff, but I miss my mom and dad more. They were like that too, always there for all our stuff."

"Just one more reason my dad is an idiot. He doesn't think about stuff like that, the people who can't be there for their kids when he just chooses not to be."

"So, if Lee's not your real dad, does that mean you guys are adopted or something?"

"Not exactly, Jamie explained. "He's our stepdad. You know, 'cause he married our mom."

"Ohhhh..." Glenn let out a little sigh of disappointment. He was hopeful for a moment that if the older boys had been adopted, maybe their parents would adopt him and his sisters too. "I...uh...I better go get a shower before bed."

Just as Glenn was collecting his pajamas to take to the bathroom, Phillip poked his head in. "Hey, Wormbrain! Are you done in the bathroom so I can get in there now?"

"I'm done, but Glenn hasn't been in there yet," Jamie answered. "And don't call me wormbrain, Stupid!"

"You can have it first," Glenn offered to keep the peace between the two brothers. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble.

"Nah, it's cool. I can wait," Phillip told him. "You go on."

When Glenn departed, Phillip closed the door while his brother looked at him curiously. "What's up with you? You're never that nice. Plus, you came in here yelling about the bathroom and now, when he offered to let you go first, you just gave up without a fight."

"See? This is why you're a wormbrain, Wormbrain. I didn't really care about the bathroom. I just wanted to talk to you."

"You wanna' talk to me?" He eyed his brother suspiciously. "After you had a big temper tantrum about not sharing a room with me?"

"Okay, I was being a jerk, but come on, weren't you a little put out when we got here and there were all these other kids here? And that Mom and Lee started paying all this attention to them? It was like...well, almost like Dad, you know?"

"And this is why you're stupid," Jamie retorted. "It's not like Dad at all. He ran off to Europe to be with his new wife and made us choose between spending Christmas with him or with Mom. Mom and Lee aren't making us choose. They're just trying to make the best of a bad situation."

"I know that now. When I got so mad earlier, it wasn't really about the other kids. I just...I've just been sore at Dad for so long..."

"Tell me about it," Jamie grumbled. "You're lucky. You at least have some real memories of when he was around like a dad is s'posed to be 'cause you're almost three years older than me. I don't have that. By the time I was old enough to know what was what; it was pretty much just us and Mom and then Grandma after they got divorced."

"Sometimes, I think you got the better end of that deal," Phillip sighed. "I have all those memories of Dad being...you know, a real dad, but I think it makes it worse because I _do_ remember what it was like when he acted like he cared. I can't help wondering what changed. Why did he decide he didn't want to be a dad anymore?"

"Maybe." Jamie shrugged. "I don't think either of us got the good end. We still don't have a real dad."

"We have Lee now," Phillip reminded him. "I know he's not our dad, but he's the next best thing and he tries."

"Yeah. I was just telling Glenn that. He may not be our real dad, but he at least shows that he cares and I think that's all he's trying to do with these kids, you know? Is that all you came in here for; to complain about Dad some more?"

Phillip frowned. "No. One thing about being in a room by yourself...it gives you time to think."

"You think?" his younger brother teased.

"Shut up! I'm trying to be serious here. The point I was making is that we may have gotten shafted in the dad department, but they have it so much worse than we do since they have no parents. Just like Lee. His mom and dad died when he was just a little kid and I think he...um..." Phillip paused, unsure of how to express his thoughts.

"He sees himself in them," Jamie supplied.

"Exactly! Which is a good thing because kids like that who don't have anybody, they should have someone show them they care like Lee does with us all the time. But it's also kind of a bad thing too because..."

"What's going to happen to them when we go home and they're right back to having nobody again?"

Phillip laughed and joked, "How come we never agree on stuff like this when we're at home?"

"I don't know. Maybe because we see each other all the time and just get on each other's nerves?"

"Yeah, probably."

"But even though we get on each other's nerves, I would never want anything to happen to you," Jamie replied honestly. "I've always had a big brother and I wouldn't know what to do without one. When Mom asked Sunny about why they ran away, it made me kinda' sad 'cause they had to hide out here just so they could be together for Christmas."

Phillip nodded in agreement. "And we thought we had it bad by having to choose which parents to spend Christmas with, but it doesn't even compare."

"Right. They had to sneak around and maybe even break the law just to be together. I can't even imagine what that's like. It was hard enough when Mom got hurt and we were worried that she wasn't going to make it. I was so scared, but if something had happened to her, we still would have at least had Dad and Grandma."

"And Lee," Phillip added. "Don't forget, they were already married then. We just didn't know it yet."

"But the point is we wouldn't have been on our own like Sunny and Glenn and Ivy are."

"I know that. That's why I wanted to talk to you to see what you thought about..." He shook his head. "Never mind. You'll just call me stupid again."

"Oh, come on! You came in here for a reason and now you're gonna' chicken out?"

"I just thought..." He trailed off uncertainly.

"What? You might as well say it 'cause it's probably the same thing I thought."

Phillip took a deep breath and finally spit out all in a rush, "Well, you know how Mom and Lee have been kinda'...arguing about having another kid? You know, the whole thing about how Lee wants a kid of his own and Mom's not really sure she wants to have another baby because they're so much work? Well, what I was thinking is since they're already sort of taking care of these other kids, why couldn't we take them home with us since we're gonna' get that big new house? Couldn't Mom and Lee adopt them or something?"

"We _were_ thinking the same thing," Jamie informed his brother. "But I don't really know all that much about how that stuff works...you know, the legal part of it, but it's not as simple as you make it sound. They can't just 'take them home with us' like you suggested. That would be kidnapping."

"I know that. I'm not stupid," Phillip argued. "But if they wanted to, they could do it the right way...where it's not kidnapping."

"Why do you care? I thought you were annoyed that they were here."

"I was at first...until I started really thinking about how sad it would be not to have any parents at all and nowhere to go to feel safe." He paused for a beat and then asked, "Do you think they'd go for it?"

Jamie laughed. "Well, you know how Mom is. Even though she promised not to tell on them, she's probably already trying to figure out where they came from so she can see where to go from there and at least make sure they're going to have a good home to go back to."

"But why couldn't it be our home? Think about it. Mom would have the little girl she always wanted, not just one, but two of them. You'd get to be a big brother and I-"

"You think Sunny's cute," Jamie teased.

Phillip rolled his eyes. "No. That's not all I think about, you know."

"Yeah, right. I saw how you looked at her when you first met her."

"Okay, maybe at first I did think about her like that, but that was before she slugged me. But I spent some time talking to her when I was helping with dinner and she's actually...I don't know...just cool. You actually have some stuff in common with her 'cause she's really into art like you with your photography stuff and she's super smart, not book-smart like you, but more street-smart."

"She proved that when she socked you in the face," Jamie laughed.

"Yeah. She really knows how to take care of herself, but it's hard for her to take care of herself _and_ her brother and sister. She tries so hard to protect them, but maybe she could use not only a mom and dad, but a big brother too...you know, to protect _her_."

"Wow, you guys really did talk, huh?"

"Well, Mom kinda' started it talking about how kids at school could be mean and when she did, Sunny started talking more about how she had to learn to defend herself because kids were mean to her."

"Like you always defended me when people called me names for being so smart," Jamie interjected. "I kinda' miss that now that you're in a different school."

"But that's just one more good thing if they did come home with us. Sunny's only a little older than you, so you guys would be in the same school and you could sort of...look out for each other."

"That all sounds great, but you're forgetting one very important thing, Doofus. Even if Lee and Mom do decide that's what they want, what if they don't want to come home with us? What if they're happier just being on their own?"

"You don't really believe that, do you? Haven't you seen how sad and confused they seem?" Especially the little one, Ivy. Just think about what you said a little bit ago about Dad. You were bummed because you don't really have any memories of Dad being around for us so just think how she feels or how she'll feel when she gets older if she has no one to be there for her at all?"

"Yeah, you're probably right, but it's still not as simple as you want it to be. Mom and Lee may not even think about something like that, you know?"

"Well, maybe we should talk to them about it; _get_ them thinking about it," Phillip suggested.

"Oh, sure, like it's that easy." In a mocking tone, he added, " _Hey, Guys, I know Lee's just now getting used to us, but how would you feel about adding three more kids?"_

"Sure, it sounds stupid when you say it like that, but why can't we just talk to them about it honestly like we're talking now? They're pretty good at listening to us about stuff, like when we had to decide whether to go with Dad."

Jamie perked up a bit. "And when I talked to them about this whole baby thing," he added.

"So, what's the worst that could happen? They just say 'no' and then it's done and over with, but if we don't bring it up, there's not a chance they'll say yes, is there?"

"I guess you're right."

"Sooo...who's gonna' do it...you or me?"

"Both of us," Jamie answered firmly. "That way they know it's something we're both on board with and they don't have to do that whole big thing they like to do of talking to us separately. I mean, the one-on-one stuff is nice sometimes, but when it's something that affects all of us, then all of us should talk about it...together."

"Okay, so let's do it...now."


	15. The Real Wizard of Oz

After getting Ivy dressed for bed following her bath, Amanda led her back down the hall to get her tucked into bed. "Story..." Ivy gestured to the well-worn Oz book.

"How about I tell you a different one?" Amanda suggested. "About a real-life wizard?"

"Really?" the girl's eyes danced excitedly.

"Really. You see, there was this wizard and he was looking for..." Amanda paused as she tried to think of the right words to make it kid-friendly. "Hmm...let's call them wicked witches and this wizard just like the one in the book...he wanted to make Oz a safer place by getting rid of the wicked witches, but he needed some help. And he met this young man who was raised by just his uncle because his parents died when he was only a little boy. He was a little reckless and got himself into trouble pretty regularly."

As she told her story, she smiled as Sunny returned from the bathroom, but hovered hesitantly in the doorway. "Hi, I was just telling Ivy a story. Come on in and join us," Amanda said invitingly as she patted the empty spot on the bed beside Ivy.

The girl still hovered until Ivy piped up excitedly, "It's a story about a real wizard!'

"There's no such thing," Sunny scoffed.

"Oh, but there really is. I know him personally," Amanda informed her. "His real name is Paul."

Sunny shot Amanda a 'gimme a break' look, but when she glanced at her sister's happier face, she relented and climbed into bed with her. "So, the guy got in trouble all the time?"

"Yes, he did. In fact, the young man got into trouble so much that The Wizard told him that he acted like he didn't have a brain, but still The Wizard was smart enough to know that it was all an act because he was just so unhappy and The Wizard knew what a good guy he really was and still wanted the young man to help him on his quest to find the wicked witches. From that day on, he called him Scarecrow."

Sunny nodded as she recalled Lee telling her that his work nickname was Scarecrow. "So, what happened next?"

"Well, when Scarecrow started working with the Wizard, he met this beautiful girl with brown hair..."

"Dorothy!" Ivy cheered.

"That's right," Amanda smiled. "Dorothy. The Wizard had asked for her help too and things were going along just fine and they were 'this' close to finding the evil witches when they found out that the Tin Man had betrayed them and instead of helping their cause, was really working for the wicked witches."

"'Cause he doesn't have a heart," Sunny interjected with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah. And it wasn't until it was too late that Scarecrow learned about it...many years later, in fact. He just knew they'd been betrayed because poor Dorothy...she...well, she got hurt."

"Like when the wicked witch kidnapped her in the book?"

"Sort of, but it was worse. Unfortunately, Dorothy died and Scarecrow, well, he blamed himself for a long time until he finally learned the truth about how heartless Tin Man actually was."

"That's a stupid story," Sunny complained. "Stories are supposed to have a happy ending."

"But this is a real-life story," Amanda pointed out. "And I'm sure you know that real-life stories don't always have a happy ending."

"Yeah," she nodded in acknowledgement.

"But, this one does," Amanda added. "You see, Scarecrow met someone new...let's call her Glinda." She smiled as she thought of how some of her co-workers had called her just that as she continued, "Well, Glinda, being the good witch that she is, she saw how sad and scared our Scarecrow was and she was determined to find the perfect healing spell for him to mend his hurts and help him to live a normal life after all the tragedy he'd suffered through."

Enraptured by Amanda's tale, Sunny asked, "Did she find one?"

"Oh, yes. It took her a couple of years of searching to find just the right magic to do it, but in the end she realized she was looking in all the wrong places..." She placed her hand over her heart. "Because the right kind of magic was right here all along."

"Like the Grinch," Ivy chimed in.

"Sort of," Amanda replied.

"No, Silly," Sunny corrected her sister. "It's like the story with Glinda telling Dorothy that she always had the power to go home if she wanted to right in her own heart."

"Exactly! Except in this case, it was helping Scarecrow see just how important a home was to him because he never really had one of his own."

"Hmmm...this story's about Lee, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. How'd you know that?"

"He told me his nickname's Scarecrow and that he was an orphan like us and that he was raised by his uncle. And you...you're Glinda in the story?"

"Yep. You see, when I first met Lee, he was a lot like you. He was hurting a lot and scared too."

"I'm not scared of anything," Sunny protested.

Amanda continued despite the girl's outburst, "But Lee, he pretended he wasn't scared by acting tough and that's what got him into trouble all the time. It wasn't until he had people around him who showed him how much they cared that he started to drop the tough act and just be a person again instead of acting like the brainless Scarecrow, so you see, it doesn't always matter how much someone hurts inside if they can just find that one magic spell to help heal the hurt."

"I couldn't have done it without having my very own Glinda, the Good Witch," Lee commented from the doorway with an affectionate smile directed toward his wife as he entered the room. "And the munchkins," he added with a nod to the girls.

"You mean Phillip and Jamie, right?" Sunny asked.

"Not just them," he replied with a smile at her. "You see, Scarecrow's story didn't end there. He still had to learn every day how to give back some of what Glinda taught him to other people."

"So, how does the story really end?"

"I don't know yet. We're still writing it as we go along." He reached for Amanda's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

Amanda smiled at him and then looked back at the girls. "I think that's enough storytelling for the night. It's getting late so you girls should get some sleep and we'll work on writing more of this story in the morning."

"No!" Ivy protested. "More story!"

"Tomorrow, okay? We'll know where the story leads next tomorrow. Sleep tight and I'll see you in the morning." She rose from the bed and turned off the bedside lamp.

As she and Lee left the room and closed the door behind them, she inquired, "So, how long were you standing there?"

"Long enough," he answered with a shrug. "That was pretty clever of you using my story. I think you might have actually gotten through to her a bit."

"I hope so." Her brow furrowed as her thoughts began whirling again regarding the children.

"I know that look. You're still worried." He wondered if he should tell her what he learned from Glenn. He knew she wanted to know more about what was going on with the orphans, but he also didn't want to worry her even more.

"I have reason to be," she explained as they entered the living room. "This situation with the kids is so much worse than we could have imagined." As she sank down on the sofa, she blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes over the thought that anyone could even think of hurting such a sweet little girl like Ivy.

"Amanda, what is it?"

"It's Ivy." She went on to detail what she'd seen when giving her a bath.

"Yeah, I know," he nodded sadly. "It's even worse than that though." He laid out his entire chat with Glenn.

After comparing notes, Amanda questioned, "But what are we going to do about it? If we report the abuse to the police, what guarantee do we have that they'd do anything about it when the foster parents have filed their own report and Ivy denies it happened? It would be just our word against theirs."

"Plus, chances are good that they'd just ship the kids right back where they came from. So, maybe we don't go to the police. Maybe we go straight to Social Services."

"But wouldn't that amount to the same thing? Social Services would probably want to just send them back too."

"Not necessarily...not if we...if we..." He stammered as he tried to figure out how to get his thoughts out.

"If we what?" She wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Well, what if we petitioned them for temporary custody of the kids until a real investigation could be done on the foster parents?"

"Lee, I-"

He cut her off before she could protest. "Before you say 'no' just hear me out. We're already taking care of them and we're getting to the point where they're starting to trust us and we already talked about maybe adopting a kid and I know we never talked about adopting three kids, but what the hell are we buying that big damn house for if it's not for something like this? We already know we'll have two extra rooms and-"

"Lee, stop!"

"Amanda, please. Just think about it before you tell me I'm crazy."

"Lee, really, stop! I'm not saying 'no' and I'm not telling you you're crazy. I was thinking the same thing, but my only worry is what the boys will think of the idea. They've been through so much change lately and this would be just one more thing. Even though you and I agree, I think we really need to get their thoughts on it too."

"Right. You're right, of course. We'll talk to them about it first thing in the morning."

"You don't have to wait until morning," Phillip added as he and his brother entered the room. "We kinda' wanted to talk to you about the same thing."

"Yeah," Jamie nodded in agreement.

"So, how do you guys feel about all this?" Lee asked with an apprehensive look.

"We were just talking, Phillip and me, and we agreed that it would be really sad if they spent the whole week with us and then still had no real home when we've got so much. It would just hurt them even more once we leave."

"So, you're saying you want us to make them a part of our family?" Amanda questioned skeptically. "Both of you?" She cast a worried glance to Phillip.

"Well, you kinda' already did that by letting them stay here," Phillip responded matter-of-factly. "We just think you should make it official."

"Yeah, then maybe you guys would stop fighting about having another kid too because then you'd have three new kids," Jamie added.

"I'll tell you what," Amanda began. "Now that we have your input, I think Lee and I need to talk about it just a little more...you know, about what to do next, so why don't you go on to bed and we'll let you know in the morning what we decided, okay?'

Both boys nodded and went their separate ways, pleased that they hadn't had to beg and plead for their parents to consider it.

"How do you like that?" Lee commented with a smile, his heart swelling with pride at the thoughtfulness of his stepsons.

"Yeah."

"Well, it looks like your worries about the boys were unfounded. For all your mothering, maybe you don't know as much about them as you think. Is that uncanny mom radar of yours broken?" he teased her. When she didn't make a sarcastic comment back or even crack a smile, his own smile faded. "And you're still worried."

She nodded. "A little," she admitted. "I mean, it's great that our family agrees and all. I think it's wonderful, but what about their little family? We may have all agreed that we want to keep them in our lives, but what if they don't? What if they see it as just more grown-ups interfering? You told me that Glenn said Sunny runs away all the time and we've already figured out that he'll pretty much follow her, so what if...well, what if you're right? What if my 'mom radar' is broken? What if I'm seeing something in these kids that just isn't there?"

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "You know I was only kidding about that."

"But what if it's true? I can't help thinking about all the arguments I made about having a baby that were mostly about my career. What if I really have been selfish in focusing so much on my success on the job that I've failed at my most important job of all?" She mentally kicked herself for the statement she'd made about wanting more from her life than just being a mother and it hit her now just why Lee had called her selfish over it.

Lee pulled back to meet her eyes. "Amanda, stop. Stop second-guessing yourself. You have not failed as a mother. You're the most amazing mom I've ever seen in my life."

"Oh, because you have so much experience in that area," she retorted sarcastically.

"Ouch." A wounded look crossed his face. "Maybe I don't since I did grow up without my mom, but dammit, Amanda, why do you think Phillip and Jamie chose to stay with you for Christmas instead of the more exciting tour of Europe with their dad? And why do you think I wanted us to have a kid of our own, huh? Because you are good at it. Any kid would be lucky to have you as a mother and that's what I wanted for my own kids. If Sunny can't see that, then she doesn't deserve you."

"Do you really think so?"

"No, Amanda, I know so."

"Thank you." She nodded.

"I'm the silver lining guy, remember?" he teased as he recalled the scary night they'd spent trapped in a swamp together.

Finally, Amanda laughed. "Yes, you are." She felt her spirits lift at her husband's faith in her and she began to feel a bit more positive about the situation knowing that her own children were on board. She just hoped that things would continue to work out and that her fears about the orphans not wanting them were just as unfounded as her fears about the boys.


	16. Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Amanda was just drifting off to sleep when she was jolted by the sound of shrill screaming coming from the girls' room. She leapt out of bed and sprinted down the hall, Lee hot on her heels. She quickly entered the room, snapping on the light as she did so, concern etched on her face when she saw Ivy shaking and sobbing, her big sister holding her and comforting her. "What's going on?" She knelt to Ivy's level and asked, "Did you have a bad dream?"

The little girl nodded and sniffled while Sunny answered, "She has them all the time…ever since…" She trailed off and held her sister tighter and crooned softly to her, "It's okay, Ivy. You're safe. I promise."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lee inquired as he knelt beside his wife.

Sunny shook her head. "I don't know what it would be."

"I want Mommy," Ivy whimpered through her tears.

"Me too, Ivy, but she's gone. I'm sorry." Sunny choked back tears of her own even as she tried to comfort her sister.

"Glenn said she didn't quite understand that your parents are gone. Is that what this is about?" He nodded to the trembling five-year-old.

Sunny shook her head. "Not exactly."

"I hate that phrase," he commented dryly with a knowing glance at his wife.

"Ivy, Sweetheart," Amanda cooed softly. "What is it? What did you dream about that's got you so upset?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it," Sunny explained.

"You know, I've been through this with my boys many times when they were little and in fact, even more recently with my younger boy. I…um…" She took a deep breath because she still wasn't quite comfortable talking about her shooting. "Well, the scars I showed you…they're there because I was…I was shot…straight through the chest earlier this year. That's why those scars go all the way through and…um…Jamie…he-he had a really hard time dealing with the fact that I nearly died and for a good two months afterward, he had constant nightmares about me not coming back and I had to keep reassuring him that I was safe and alive and-"

"No offense, but I don't think something like that will help because our parents aren't safe…or alive."

"I know that," Amanda responded sadly.

"Look, I know you just wanna' help, but unless you can get your wizard friend to magically bring our parents back..."

"Okay, so he's not a real wizard," Amanda conceded.

"But she wasn't wrong about the magic being in here," Lee put in and tapped his chest. "This woman right here, she helped me to see what was so wrong with my life when I thought I was done hoping for any kind of real life. When she was telling you her story - really, _my_ story - she may have embellished a few details, but the point of the story was absolutely right. I do know what it's like to lose your parents young and to have your faith in people broken by being betrayed to the point that you just decide you don't need them in your life. She made me see how wrong I was; how unhappy it made me. It was mostly because I was afraid to be hurt again."

"You don't know what we've been through," Sunny replied softly.

"No, but we'd like to," Amanda replied. "Like you said, we want to help, but we can't do that if we don't know what's going on. I know I approached you the wrong way earlier when we were talking about scars. I tried to negotiate with you by saying I'd tell you my story if you told me yours, but really, I want to know what happened to you so I can understand where you're coming from better."

Sunny nodded. "You just told me what happened to you anyway." She gestured to Amanda's covered chest where she knew the scars were. "You were really shot?"

"Yeah, she was," Lee answered first. "And I was out of my mind with worry when we thought she might not make it. It was the scariest-"

"Ivy, Sweetie, are you okay?" Amanda interrupted when she saw the younger girl had stopped sniffling.

Ivy gave a dramatic shiver and said in a hushed tone, "Fire bad."

"Yes, it can be," Amanda replied in a soothing tone. "But it can also be good; it gives us light and heat when it's not out of control."

"That's the problem," Sunny snorted.

"Is that what happened to your mom and dad? They were killed in a fire?"

Sunny nodded slowly and she carefully rolled up the sleeve of her nightgown to bare her left arm. "That's how I got this."

"Trying to get out of the fire?" Lee questioned.

"No. Trying to get my mom out," she corrected, but then paused and looked at them warily. "Are you really sure you wanna' hear this? Nobody else cares."

"We care," Lee replied as Amanda said, "Yes, we want to hear this."

Sunny nodded and let out a deep sigh. "It was about eight months ago," she began as she blinked back tears that had begun to form in her eyes. "We were all getting ready for bed and Mom was reading Ivy a bedtime story - we shared a room - and she was in Ivy's bed with her with the Oz book, but before she could finish the story, we heard-" She broke off and swallowed hard.

"Big boom!" Ivy yelled with a wild arm gesture as she mimicked the sound of an explosion.

Seeing the pain etched on Sunny's face and the fear on Ivy's, Lee inserted, gently, "If you don't want to talk about it, we'll understand. If anyone gets how hard it is to talk about losing your mom and dad, it's me."

"How did your folks die?" Sunny inquired.

"A car wreck," Lee answered simply. There was no need to go into the details that the accident had been engineered by someone who wanted them dead. "Like I told you earlier, I was Ivy's age when it happened and I spent two years in a boys' home until my uncle could make arrangements to get me out."

Sunny nodded sadly. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," Lee agreed. "A whole lot. I was so young that it took me a long time to realize that my parents were never coming back."

"That's Ivy too," Sunny commiserated with him. "She understands that Mom and Dad are in heaven, but she doesn't quite get that they can't come back from heaven to be with us or why we keep getting shuffled around from place to place."

"That's lousy," Lee commented. "I've been there too."

"It is," Amanda agreed, "But just because you've got it rough now, that doesn't mean there's no hope for you to have a better future. There are people out there who would be willing to adopt all three of you so you can stay together."

"Yeah, right," the girl scoffed. "Most people only want babies or little kids. Besides, even if they didn't, who wants a scarred-up ugly mess like me?"

"Maybe we do," Lee answered at the same time Amanda replied, "you are not ugly."

The couple exchanged glances with Lee giving Amanda a 'let me handle this' look. When she nodded in response, he went on, "I'm thinking we need to add more to the real-life Oz story..." He paused as he tried to think of the best way to go about it.

"Go on," Amanda encouraged him, a warm smile on her face at him taking the initiative.

"Well, I told you earlier that Scarecrow's story was still being written, so here comes the next part. After the wizard with the help of Glinda made him realize that he really did have a brain after all, he started back down the yellow-brick road, only he took a different path this time. On the way, he met these munchkins and they weren't the singing, happy munchkins that everybody saw in the movie. These munchkins were sad and a little lost because they were far from home and didn't know how to get back. Scarecrow could really relate to that because he felt like that a lot himself before he met Glinda, so he decided that even though he couldn't get the munchkins back to the home they once knew because he didn't know the way, what he could do was offer them a new home with him."

"And Glinda," Amanda chimed in. "And two other munchkins who were willing to share their home with the lost ones."

Sunny eyed them skeptically. "No way."

"Yes way," Amanda replied with a chuckle. "That is, if you and your brother and sister would like that too." When she saw the girl still hesitating, she quickly added, "But you don't have to make a decision right this second. Why don't you sleep on it and we'll talk more in the morning?"

"Yeah, okay," the girl replied with a nod. She wasn't sure quite what to make of their offer and was almost afraid to hope that it was real.

"Ivy, Sweetheart, do you think you can go back to sleep now?"

The younger girl nodded and nestled herself back into the covers, cuddled up against her sister.

"Good, now if you need anything, anything at all, we're right down the hall, okay?"

"Yeah," Sunny replied as Lee and Amanda made their way to the door. As Amanda was reaching for the light switch, she quickly added, "Um...thanks."

"My pleasure," Amanda responded with a bright smile.

As they returned to their own room, Lee commented, "Well, we know a little more of their story now."

"Yeah, some kind of explosion, maybe a furnace blowing up, a gas leak or something resulting in a fire." She sighed as she climbed back into bed. "I just feel so bad that Sunny thinks she's ugly because of her burn scars. I wish there were a way to convince her that it's not true."

"Easier said than done," he reminded her as he slipped into bed beside her. "I seem to recall _someone_ a few months ago who thought the same thing about herself." He gave her a pointed look. "I distinctly recall what a tough time I had convincing her that it wasn't true."

"Okay, okay, I admit that I was a bit self-conscious when I was no longer covered in bandages and the scars were just...out there and I imagine she feels the same way, but I feel like it's even worse for her because she's just a kid and other kids...well, they can be mean."

"That's for sure," Sunny muttered from the open doorway. When both adults turned to look at her, she hesitantly stammered, "Uh...d-did you really mean it when you...you said you wanted to hear about what happened to us?"

"Of course, we did," Amanda answered sincerely as she scooted over a bit to make room for her and patted the bed invitingly. "Come on in."

Sunny approached them and sat on the edge of the bed. "I...um...I-I-I didn't want to talk about it in front of Ivy, but she's asleep again and I-"

"What is it, Sweetheart? You can tell us anything."

She shot a pleading glance at Lee, took a deep breath and blurted out, "Is it wrong that I'm mad at my mom for leaving us when she's dead?"

"No," Lee shook his head adamantly. "Not at all. I was mad at my mom _and_ dad for leaving me."

"But your parents couldn't stop the car wreck from happening. She could have saved herself and she didn't!"

"How do you mean?" Amanda inquired.

"Dad was in the basement fiddling with the furnace because he thought something was wrong with it. We were all ready for bed and like I told you before, she had Ivy on her lap and was reading that stupid Oz book and then..."

"The furnace exploded?" Lee supplied.

"Yeah. She hurried up and shoved me and Glenn and Ivy toward the front door..." she gave a slight chuckle. "And Ivy was still hanging onto that book when we ran outside." She swallowed hard and choked back tears. "But then when we got there, I saw that Mom wasn't with us so I told Glenn to keep Ivy out there with him and I ran back in. I saw Mom running and yelling Dad's name and she..." Tears were now streaming down her face.

"It's okay. You don't have to go on if you don't want to."

"I tried so hard to get to her and get her to come back where it was safe, but she was determined to go after Dad and see if he was okay. The kitchen, it was...by the time I got there, it was completely on fire and she...and I couldn't...it was...it was just too hot."

"Is that how you got the scars?" Lee probed gently.

She nodded. "My sleeve caught on fire when I was yelling for my mom and the fire spread so fast, she got trapped between the basement door and the backdoor and had nowhere to go." She took a shuddering breath and concluded, "That's why I'm so mad at her. She didn't have to die like that when she could've been safe with us and then we wouldn't have lost both our parents."

"Wow," Lee let out a low whistle.

"You think I'm horrible for hating my mom, don't you?"

"No." Lee assured her. "I thought about that so much when I was a kid. You know, what if my mom and dad hadn't been working late that night; what if she'd stayed home instead of leaving me with a babysitter or what if they'd both stayed home? But then I realized that as much as it hurt to lose them, growing up without them is what made me who I am today and made me so tough...like you."

She sniffled and replied, "I don't feel so tough right now."

"But you are," Amanda insisted. "You wouldn't be so determined to keep you family together if you weren't."

"Did you really mean it when you said you wanted all of us?"

"Yes, we really did." Amanda beamed at the girl. "But like I said, we can talk about that more in the morning. It's getting late so why don't you go on back to bed...unless there's something else you want to talk about."

Sunny shook her head. "No, there isn't. Thanks."

Once the girl was out of earshot, Lee blew out a long breath. "And I thought I had it rough as a kid."

"Yeah," Amanda agreed with a hint of sadness in her tone, but then in a more positive one added, "But they don't have to have it so rough anymore."


	17. Up a Tree

The next morning, Amanda was busy preparing breakfast while Lee was setting the table when Glenn and Jamie bounded in. "When are we gonna' go get our tree?" Jamie questioned eagerly.

"Not until after breakfast," Amanda answered. "Why don't you boys do me a favor and make sure the other kids are up? Breakfast will be ready soon and I don't want it getting cold before they have a chance to eat it." Once the boys had run off again, she turned her attention to her husband. "You know, I was thinking..."

"Oh no, I know that look," he groaned. "You're planning something and that probably means it's something I'm not going to like."

"You won't know that if you won't let me get it out," she retorted. "But anyway, what I was thinking is that the cutting the tree down thing is much more a guy thing, so I was thinking why don't you just take the boys while I stay here with the girls?"

"And do what with them?" He knew her well enough to know there was more to the story than she was telling him.

"I want to take Ivy to a doctor," she confessed. "Even if the kids do agree to allow us to adopt them, those horrible foster parents still need to be reported and the record set straight that she wasn't kidnapped. And in a situation like this, it's best to have photographic evidence while those bruises are still visible."

"Okay, I can get on board with that, but how are you going to get her there? If I'm taking the boys to get the tree, I'll need the car to haul it back."

"I thought of that so I did some checking and the parks department has a shuttle service to take people into town, so I thought I'd use that so you could still have the car."

He shook his head in amazement. "You've already had a busy morning."

"Oh, not really. It was all in that lovely brochure you gave me," she teased.

"I knew I was going to regret that," he fired back good-naturedly. "Leave it to you to look at every detail."

"Well, do you disagree that something needs to be done? I mean, even if we get our wish and the kids come home with us, something needs to be done about those foster parents so that no more children are placed in their care to be harmed like Ivy was."

"No, I don't disagree at all. You're absolutely right."

"Besides, I thought while I was in town, I might do a little Christmas shopping," she added.

"More shopping?" he questioned incredulously. "You already bought out half the mall before we ever left Arlington."

"Yes, but that was before we met these children. Since it's their first Christmas without their mom and dad and we have a ton of stuff for the boys, I feel like we should do something for them too, especially if we're going to make them a part of our family. Plus, they lost everything when their home burned down. I'm sure they could use some new clothes and since they only have that one book and Sunny likes to read...and Ivy doesn't have any toys...and Glenn, well, he misses playing baseball so I thought maybe we could get him some baseball stuff...and..."

"Okay, okay, I get your point," he interrupted her ramble with an approving smile. "Go shop 'til you drop."

She planted a quick kiss to his lips. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours later, Lee was out at the tree lot with all three boys while they perused the selection of trees. "I like this great big one," Phillip gushed excitedly. "You can put more presents under it."

Lee laughed at his stepson's logic. "Keep in mind we don't have a great big space to put it in. Besides, a bigger tree isn't going to change the number of presents your mom and I already bought for you."

While they looked around more, the park ranger who'd directed them to their cabin the day before approached them. "Can I help you folks narrow down your choices a bit?"

"I think we'll figure it out. Thanks," Lee replied. "Right, fellas?" When he saw the ranger eyeing them suspiciously, he questioned, "Was there something else?"

"Ummm...yeah...I could've sworn when you arrived yesterday that you and your wife only had two boys, not three." He nodded to Glenn.

"Oh, no, we have three," Lee quickly covered. "You just missed the youngest because he was asleep in the back of the wagon using one of the suitcases as a pillow." He nodded to the orphan boy, "Right, Glenn?"

"Right," the boy readily agreed, not wanting to get into any trouble.

"If you have kids yourself, I'm sure you know how they can get on long car rides," Lee added, hoping his story would appease the too-curious ranger.

"Right, sure." The other man nodded and tipped his hat. "I was just a bit concerned because I had to chase some runaway kids out of one of the cabins a couple of days ago. Just wanted to make sure he wasn't one of them."

"Nope, he's all ours," Lee assured him with a smile. _I hope,_ he added mentally. "Now, if you don't mind, my boys and I have some more tree-hunting to do."

"Sure thing. Have fun."

Once the ranger was gone, Glenn smiled gratefully at Lee. "Thanks...for covering for us."

Lee's smile faded a bit. "Well, you could've warned us that you'd already been spotted hiding out here."

"Yeah...sorry," the boy replied sheepishly. "We...uh...we just didn't wanna' get in trouble."

"I know, I know, but you're gonna' have to be honest with us from now on, okay? Especially if we're all going to be a family someday soon."

Glenn looked at him curiously. "Huh?"

At the stupefied look on the boy's face, it hit Lee that Glenn hadn't been a part of that conversation. "Oh, right. You were asleep. Well, Amanda and I..."

"And us too," Jamie chimed in.

"Well, we...uh...we were talking about making the three of you a permanent part of our family."

"Really?" His eyes lit up.

"So, you're okay with that? You know, all of us, you, me, Amanda, Phillip Jamie, Sunny-"

"No," Glenn's face fell at the mention of his big sister. When he saw a look of disappointment cross Lee's face, he explained, "I mean, it's a really cool idea and all and I'd like that, but Sunny...she'd never agree to it."

"Then we'll just have to put our heads together and come up with a way to change her mind, won't we?" Lee did remember how hesitant the girl had seemed last night, but he was hoping that was just her skepticism that anyone cared. But what if her brother was right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While Lee was with the boys, Amanda was at a walk-in clinic with Ivy, who was being examined and a sullen Sunny, who grumbled, "I thought you said you weren't going to turn us in."

"This isn't about turning you in, I promise," Amanda replied gently. "This is about getting justice for your sister. You don't want what happened to her to happen to some other kid, do you?"

"Well...no," she admitted. "But once the cops get involved, won't we be in trouble?"

"We'll just have to explain the situation," Amanda answered optimistically. "You know, the police can be pretty understanding when it comes to extreme circumstances like yours."

"That's what you think," the girl muttered. "They always just wanna' take us right back to some home."

"I promise you I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Once the doctor was finished with his examination and taking photographs of the abuse, he informed her, "I can definitely understand your concern, Mrs. Stetson. I've already had one of the nurses contact the local sheriff's department and plan to fully inform them of what I see here. They should be here any time so you can give them your statement as well."

"Thank you, Doctor."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and the boys returned to the cabin and the four of them together hauled their prize inside and set it upright in the stand they'd packed. "I can't wait to start decorating this thing," Phillip whooped, feeling proud of himself that he'd helped to pick out the ornaments to bring along and that his mother had trusted him enough to do so.

"Now, hold on, Phillip," Lee admonished him. "I think we should wait for your mom to get back because she'll want us all to do it together as a family."

"Yeah, Bozo!" Jamie jeered.

"Hey, no name-calling! You know how your mom feels about that."

"Sorry."

Lee glanced at his watch. "Where is your mom anyway? We were out there for a long time looking at trees." He began to grow concerned as he realized just how much time had passed. He and the boys had been out there for at least two hours before they could all agree on a tree, then there had been the time it took to cut it down, strap it to the top of the wagon, drive it back and haul it inside and set it up. "I guess maybe she got carried away with her shopping," he answered himself.

"Yeah, Mom goes a little crazy at Christmastime," Phillip nodded.

"That's probably all it is," Lee tried to reassure himself, hoping that really was all there was to it, but years in the intelligence business had made him somewhat paranoid when things didn't go according to plan. He shook off his worries and clapped his hands together, "Okay, while we're waiting for the girls to get back, let's at least get some stuff started. Phillip, since you helped pick out the ornaments from the house, why don't you start unpacking them, but be careful not to break any of them. Your mother will have a fit if you do."

"Oh, yeah, I know," Phillip acknowledged, remembering how she'd scolded him over that very thing.

"And Jamie, why don't you get some water for the tree and Glenn, you and I will get to untangling the lights since that's a two-man job." he gestured to the box he knew contained the strings of Christmas lights.

"You got it," Glenn replied.

Another hour passed and with the other tasks complete, all four men were embroiled in the daunting task of untangling the lights, Lee pausing every few minutes to check his watch again his worry growing each time he did. _Where is she?_ It wasn't like her not to call if she thought she was going to be later than expected. He couldn't count the number of times he'd been annoyed by her insistence that she call home while they were on the job if she knew something might detain her, so what the hell was going on now? Surely, she wasn't still shopping?

"You okay, Lee?" Jamie inquired when he noticed his stepdad's furrowed brow.

"Sure," he lied, not wanting to get the boys as worried as he was. "It's just these lights. It's harder than it looks."

"That's for sure," Phillip nodded in agreement.

"Listen, I'm going to leave you guys to this for a minute." He rose from his spot on the floor and walked into the kitchen toward the phone, glaring at it for a moment and then shaking his head. _Who the hell are you going to call, stupid?_ he scolded himself. It wasn't as if they were back in D.C. where he could just call the house or the school or somewhere else Amanda might be.

He let out a deep sigh and leaned against the wall as his mind turned over all the possibilities. She had said that she wanted to report the foster parents, so maybe that had taken longer than she'd planned on, especially since the local sheriff's department thought Ivy had been kidnapped. Or maybe she hadn't been able to get the girl into a doctor right away and was still sitting in some waiting room somewhere. _No,_ he immediately rejected that thought because doctors' offices had phones she could have called from to let him know it was taking longer than expected and so did a sheriff's office.

His thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. "Finally!" he breathed a sigh of relief as he snatched it up. "Amanda?"

"Oh, Lee, thank goodness you're there. I tried calling a couple of hours ago but no one answered and this is the first time they've let me try again."

"They? They who? Amanda, what's going on? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but I need your help because 'they' is the local sheriff's office and they wouldn't let me call when I wanted to because...well, because I'm...I'm in j-jail. They arrested me because they think I'm the one who kidnapped Ivy."


	18. My Little Runaway

"Wait, what? How? Why?"

"I'll explain everything when you get here, just please, please get here," Amanda pleaded.

"I'm there," he replied and quickly hung up the phone. He paused for a moment as he wondered what he should tell the boys. He didn't want to have to tell them that their mother had been arrested, but he also couldn't help thinking about the promise he and Amanda had made to them after revealing the truth about their marriage that they'd never lie to them again.

"Was that Mom?" Jamie asked worriedly. Despite Lee trying to reassure him that everything was fine, he'd seen the same concerned look on his face earlier.

Lee sighed again and decided to bite the bullet. "Listen, guys, there's been a bit of confusion down at the police station. Your mom was trying to do a good thing and make sure the people who were hurting Ivy wouldn't be allowed to do it again and...um...well, since those people reported that Ivy had been kidnapped and your mom was there..." He wasn't entirely sure that that was what had happened since Amanda hadn't given him any details, but he was pretty sure it was at least close to the truth.

"They think she took her when it was really me," Glenn inserted guiltily. "Man, I didn't want to get in trouble, but I don't want her getting in trouble for me. I should go with you...you know, turn myself in."

"No," Lee shook his head. "Because all that will accomplish is getting you sent back to a home and I don't want that."

"But it's my fault. I'm going!" the boy insisted.

"We are too," Phillip chimed in. "We can be witnesses or something that Ivy was already here when we got here."

"Yeah," Jamie nodded, echoing his brother's sentiments.

"I appreciate that, Fellas, but I don't think-"

"Forget it, Lee, we're coming with you," Jamie stated firmly. "This is our mom we're talking about."

"And my sister," Glenn added.

Realizing he was outgunned, Lee conceded. Maybe Phillip was right in his thinking that having multiple witnesses would help. "Okay, fine, but you do what I say when I say...all of you. You got it?"

When all three boys agreed, they headed out to rescue Amanda.

When they entered the sheriff's office, they were assailed by the sound of a shrill woman's voice nearly shrieking. "She's a goddamn liar! I didn't do a damn thing to that girl! If she's got bruises that other chick put them there! I just wanted to give that poor sweet little baby a good home and that ungrateful little brat just wouldn't' stop-"

"Excuse me," Lee interrupted impatiently. Guessing this had to be the abusive foster mother, he raised an eyebrow at the woman's use of "sweet' and "brat" in the same sentence to describe Ivy. He directed his comment to the deputy behind the desk, ignoring the irate woman. "I'm here for my wife...Amanda Stetson."

"You oughtta' tell your wife not to mess with other people's kids," the woman snarled at him before turning her attention back to the man behind the desk. "Now, when am I going to get my baby back?"

"Ma'am," the harried deputy began. "As I've already said, the child is in the care of Social Services until a full investigation can be done."

"And I told you, there don't need to be no damn investigation 'cause I didn't do nothin' wrong!"

"Again, we're trying to do a thorough investigation so that we-"

This time it was Lee who interrupted. "But you arrested my wife without an full investigation?" he questioned hotly as he extracted his badge and showed it to the deputy, glad that he had a habit of never leaving it behind. "Did you by chance happen to go through her personal effects after her arrest? If you did, you'd find a badge just like this one. Do you really think a federal agent would kidnap a child?"

The deputy paled and stammered, "I-I...uh...listen, I wasn't the one who arrested her. I was just here when they brought her in and...uh...I'm trying to make sense of this whole thing just like you are."

"You wanna' make some sense of it?" He nodded to the three boys and gestured for them to come forward. "I suggest you talk to these three and to the two girls. They can all tell you the truth and so can I. Not to mention a certain park ranger who ran the kids out of one of the cabins days before we ever arrived here. I'd also suggest dropping the charges against her and applying them where they really belong..." He glowered at the foster mother.

"Your dad is so cool," Glenn whispered in awe to the other two boys. "I so wish he was my dad too."

"Thank you, Sweetheart," Amanda said gratefully as she entered the room, "But the charges have already been dropped. "The doctor I took Ivy to came in and made a statement that the bruises were too old for me to have been the one to hurt Ivy and another deputy confirmed with the parks department that we only arrived yesterday after Ivy disappeared."

"Thank God," Lee uttered in relief as he reached to embrace her while the boys cheered behind him. "So, let's get your things so we can get out of here."

"No," Amanda shook her head. "I mean, yes, I want my things back, but we can't leave yet. When they arrested me, they took the girls. We have to go get them...or we have to at least try. There's an emergency hearing in family court in about an hour to determine what to do with Ivy since she was clearly being abused..." Amanda glared at the foster mother who turned white in response. "And with Sunny since they consider her a chronic runaway. I imagine Glenn will be brought into it too since he was the one who took Ivy away from her foster parents."

"Then let's get your stuff and get there then," Lee replied determinedly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour and a half later, after Lee and Amanda had filed the proper paperwork to request temporary custody of the orphans and presented the family court judge with the facts, corroborated by the doctor, the park ranger, and all the three children who were present, they anxiously awaited the court's decision. "Well, I have to admit, in all my years doing this, I've never seen a situation quite like this." He tapped the documents before him. "Clearly, the younger child, Ivy, can't go back to the foster home she was in and it's quite obvious that keeping the three children in separate homes isn't working. I'm appalled that anyone even thought it was a good idea."

"Me too," Amanda muttered under her breath.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stetson," the judge addressed them both. "After hearing your testimony, it's obvious that you care about what happens to these children, but are you quite sure you're ready to take on three troubled children that you've only known for a single day?"

Lee and Amanda smiled at each other and replied in unison, "Absolutely."

The judge nodded. "And your own children are okay with this as well?"

"Yes," Phillip and Jamie chorused.

"And you realize how disruptive this may be to your household?"

"If I may, Your Honor," Amanda spoke up meekly.

"Yes, Mrs. Stetson?"

"While you're right that it may be disruptive to take on three new children, I think it's a lot less disruptive for those three orphans for them to have a stable home instead of being bounced around all over the place. I know this may not mean much, but my husband grew up very much like that because he lost his parents young too, so if anyone can relate to Sunny and Glenn and Ivy, it would be him. And me, well, I've been a mom for years already and it's just second-nature to me now to do what's in the best interests of the children."

"Well, there is still the fact that you didn't report finding them right away," the judge countered. "That concerns me a bit."

"Your Honor," Lee interjected. "Maybe we should have reported it right away, but my wife and I, we're federal investigators and as such, we didn't want to jump to any conclusions until we knew all the facts. It wasn't until nearly bedtime last night that we discovered what was really going on and then my wife took steps to report it first thing this morning and got falsely arrested for her efforts."

"I'm aware of that. I have the sheriff's report here too." He paused as he weighed the options. On the one hand, he could leave them in the hands of Social Services without any guarantee they'd be any better off than they'd been before. On the other, he could grant the couple's petition for emergency custody and hope it wouldn't prove to be too much for them to the point that they'd sent the kids right back where they would still be in the same boat.

"Your Honor...Sir?" Jamie spoke up. "C-can I say something?"

"Go ahead, Young Man," the judge allowed.

"Listen, I...uh...I know my mom and stepdad aren't perfect and they probably screwed up by not tattling on the other kids, but they did it for the right reasons. They wanted to keep them safe." He smiled at Glenn as he remembered the younger boy's comments about how cool Lee was. "But you know something, when...uh...when Lee first started to get to know me and my brother, I was a big jerk to him...I mean a super, colossal jerk. I even once threw a basketball at him because I was so mad. But you know something...he never gave up on me and never gave up trying to let me know he cared. You can call these kids troubled...and...and maybe they are, but I was too when I first met Lee. My real dad was never there for me and I was such a jerk because I didn't think Lee would be either and I..." He faltered for a moment as he tried to come up with the right words. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, he was still there for me no matter how big a jerk I was and just knowing that, I can tell you that he'd do the same with these other kids. He's a really cool dad, especially for a guy who isn't my actual dad, you know?"

"Thank you." the man replied. He turned his attention to the other two boys. "Do either of you have anything to add?"

Phillip shrugged. "I just mostly agree with my brother. He was a real jerk to Lee and Lee just took it all and kept at it."

"And you?" The judge nodded to Glenn.

"I just wish he was my dad," the youngest boy answered softly. "He's a good dad and then my sisters and me...we'd never have to be split up again."

"Well, since you're all in agreement, I see no other option but to grant your custody request. I'll have the clerk get the paperwork drawn up for you to pick up the two girls from the county home."

The family erupted into elated cheers and embraced each other happily. "Yes!" Jamie whooped while he hugged Glenn. "I've got a little brother now."

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple," the judge explained. "Your parents still have a lot of work to do to make that happen."

"We'll get it done," Lee assured him and then turned to his wife. "Let's get that paperwork so we can go get our girls."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Another hour passed by while they waited for the proper paperwork and drove to the county home and then waited some more for the girls to be brought into a large meeting room. As soon as they entered the room, Sunny glowered at them and snapped accusingly, "You said you wouldn't let this happen! I trusted you!"

"See? I told you she'd never agree to it," Glenn moaned worriedly. After all they'd been through, he just knew it had all been too good to be true.

"Why'd you come here?" she demanded. "Just so you can get rid of Glenn too? Congratulations! You guys are the same as everyone else just like I knew you would be." She took off running before anyone else could respond leaving Lee and Amanda staring at each other worriedly.


	19. The New Munchkinland

"Don't worry," Glenn told them. "I know where to find her. We've been here before and she has a favorite spot she likes to hide."

"Can you show us where it is?" Amanda asked.

The boy shook his head. "It's better if I talk to her first. If you invade her space, she'll just run again. Can I...uh..." He gestured to the paperwork in her hand. "Can I borrow that for a second? I think it might help if I can show it to her."

Amanda nodded in agreement as she handed him the court order. "Go get her then." While Glenn took off after his older sister, she reached down to take Ivy's hand and said in sweet, soothing voice, "How would you like to come and live with us forever?"

"Will you be my new mommy?"

"I sure will," Amanda promised. "I know I can't replace your old mommy, but I can be a good mommy to you if you let me."

"Will you read me more stories?"

"Sure, anytime you want, Kiddo." She lightly stroked the girl's hair and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She just hoped that Glenn was able to reach their older sister so they'd all be together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Glenn found his sister exactly where he'd expected to, hiding out in the uppermost part of an old wooden jungle gym that looked like a castle's turret. Because it was far away from the rest of the playground equipment, most of the other kids didn't bother with it and the few times they did, Sunny had always chased them off. He carefully climbed up the rickety wooden ladder and joined her. "Hey, Sunny," he greeted her. "You're being a big jerk, you know."

"Well, they were jerks first," she retorted. "I told her we'd get in trouble if she reported those people who hurt Ivy and she didn't listen. Grownups never listen."

"Now, you're just being stupid because you don't know the whole story. You don't know what they just went through so they could keep us."

"Pfftt!" she snorted. "Oh, right. They really tried to keep us. That's why we're right back here."

"But we're not," he argued. "They didn't come here to bring me here. They came here to get you and Ivy and take you home. Look." He showed her the court documents. When she stubbornly turned away from him, he followed and shoved the papers in her face. "Look!" he repeated more forcefully. "The judge signed it so we could all go home with them and have a real family again."

"No way," she responded in surprise.

"Yes, way. They really did what they said they were going to do. They really want to keep us...all of us."

"So, I guess I was kind of a jerk, huh?"

"Not just kind of. You were a huge jerk and they didn't deserve it when they were only trying to help us." He grinned broadly. "And you know what's even better? Those people who hurt Ivy got arrested."

"But...but I saw the cops arrest Amanda," she argued.

"Yeah, but they admitted they were wrong. See? Some grownups can be trusted. I mean, if even the cops can admit they made a mistake."

"I guess," she shrugged.

"Oh, come on, Sunny! Stop being so stubborn. Don't you want to have a real home again instead of places like this? You know, some place you don't have to run away from?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I do. It's just...it just seemed too good to be true, you know? Like maybe they were just being nice for awhile, but just like everyone else does...they'd...I don't know...get tired of us and send us back. They still might, you know."

"Maybe...but maybe not, especially if you stop giving them such a hard time. Whaddya' say? You wanna' give them a chance?"

"I don't know...maybe."

"Well, come on, Sunny, it's not like you really have a choice." He waved the papers in her face. "This is from a judge...all legal and everything. They can make you go if they have to."

"I'll just run away again," she retorted, still unsure that she could fully trust in them.

"If you do, I'll...I'll tell," he threatened. "I know better than anyone all the places you go to hide."

"You wouldn't!"

"Yes, I would if you decide to ruin a good thing for all of us. Why can't you just once believe in someone besides yourself?"

"Because Mom let us down, okay? You weren't there because you were already outside! You didn't see what she did. She got herself killed because she was too busy trying to save Dad to think about us and how much we needed her!"

"Well, maybe she was thinking about us too when she tried to save Dad. Did you ever think of that, huh? Maybe she thought we needed both of them. You don't know what she was thinking."

"Well, you don't either," she responded.

"And we'll never know, but she's gone and so is Dad, but we have a new mom and dad right inside waiting for us to go home with them. And I know it's not the same, but it's the best we've got. Why can't you just be happy about that?"

"Because I'm scared," she finally confessed. "What if we go home with them and they decide down the road that they don't want us after all?" She absently stroked her scarred arm.

"They won't," he assured her.

"You don't know that for sure."

"I believe it and if you had been there to see how hard they fought for us in that courtroom, you'd believe it too. Even Phillip and Jamie did. It was incredible. They wouldna' done that if they didn't really want us." He reached for her hand. "Come on, Sunny. Please? Let's go home."

Finally, she nodded. "Yeah, okay," she relented.

They walked hand in hand through the grounds and when they re-entered the room, Sunny released her brother's hand and apologetically said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Amanda just hugged her tightly in response. "It's okay. It's all going to be okay from now on." She pulled back just long enough to meet the girl's eyes and asked, "Are you ready to come home with us now?"

"Yeah." Sunny nodded. "Let's go home."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On the drive back, with the four older kids squished together in the backseat and Ivy carefully seat-belted into the front passenger seat with Amanda, a new worry arose. "You know, we can't keep doing this when we have to transport all the kids someplace," Amanda commented. "I think we're going to have to upgrade the Jeep to a minivan and soon.

"Yeah. You're right. I never thought of that," Lee agreed. "And it's for sure, the 'vette isn't big enough." A thought struck him then. "Maybe we should trade it in instead," he suggested.

"No, Lee, you love that car."

"I told you before, Amanda, you don't love a car. This..." He gestured around the car to his family. "This is what you love. Besides, if we trade the 'Vette instead of the Jeep, then we'd still have this one around so we'd have two larger vehicles for those times when the kids have to be different places at the same time. We've already run into that a couple of times with Phillip and Jamie being at different schools this year."

"Or maybe we keep both of them," Amanda offered a compromise. "Then we can just buy a third vehicle. The new house we're buying would have plenty of space for three cars. Plus, Mother could use whichever one we're not when she needs it and Phillip's going to start driving in a couple of years, and then Sunny a year later, so it wouldn't hurt to have a third one around for that too."

"Dibs on the "vette!" Phillip called from the backseat with a grin at Sunny.

Sunny smiled at being included in the conversation about their future plans. Maybe that was a sign that things would work out after all. "No way. Girls are way better drivers than boys," she retorted.

"Over my dead body, Kid," Lee fired back. "Both of you. You pass Driver's Ed and get your license, then _maybe_ we'll talk about it."

They stopped on the way back to pick up pizzas for dinner since it was getting rather late for cooking and then once it was eaten and cleaned up, the task of decorating the tree began.

"Okay, so we never did get all those lights untangled," Lee began and gestured to the boys to help him.

"While they're doing that, you girls can help me make the popcorn garlands."

"Ooh, I know how to do that," Sunny replied excitedly. "We used to do that with our mom."

"Good, then I won't have to show you how. I have the stuff all ready to go. We just need to string them."

"But can Ivy really help? Isn't she too little?"

"Sure, she can help." Amanda smiled brightly. "We may not want her doing the actual stringing because she might poke herself with the needle, but she can help by handing us the popcorn and cranberries."

"Hey, we need some Christmas carols," Jamie piped up and went to tune the radio into a station that was playing them and smiled as the second chorus of "Deck the Halls" was starting. "That's better."

"Hey, Lee, I was thinking..." Amanda began.

"Again?" he quipped. "What's on your mind now?"

"Well, what I was thinking is that with everything that happened today, I never did get to do my shopping and since it's probably better that I do it without the kids anyway, maybe you could do something with the kids while I shop."

"They do have some great places around here for sledding," Lee suggested. "What do you guys think?" When the response was a chorus of cheers from all sides, he laughed. "I guess that's decided then."

"Good."

The merriment continued as the group worked together to decorate the tree and sang along with the songs on the radio. "Okay, we're almost done," Amanda sang. "Last step is putting the topper on and that honor always goes to the youngest." She held up the star adorned with lights.

"Me, me, me!" Ivy cheered.

"I knew there was a downside to all this," Jamie teased.

"Okay, little one," Lee began as he hoisted her in the air. "Let me give you a boost."

Once Ivy was perched on Lee's shoulders, Amanda handed off the tree-topper. "Okay, Ivy, it goes right on the top."

With a little help from Lee, Ivy perched the star atop the tree and he plugged it in to the topmost string of lights and then set Ivy back on her feet.

"Again! Again!" the girl pleaded.

"Oh, no, we only do this once a year," Amanda informed her. "Besides, don't you wanna' see what it looks like all lit up?"

"Yes!" she nodded eagerly.

"Glenn, why don't you do the honors since you were so helpful in untangling the lights?" Truth be told, she wanted to include the orphaned children as much as she could in the festivities to help them feel like part of the family.

"Sure!" Glenn readily agreed.

The whole family 'oohed' and 'ahhed' over the fully-decorated, lighted tree.

Lee slipped his arms around his wife as he watched the children watching the dancing lights. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, the best tree we've ever had."

"I wasn't talking about the tree," he gestured to the family gathered around the tree. "I meant this...all of this. It's incredible."

Later that night after sending the kids to bed, Lee and Amanda were preparing for bed themselves. "What a day," Lee groaned as he crawled under the covers.

"You're telling me," Amanda agreed as she slid in beside him and cuddled up next to him. "I spent part of it in a jail cell and listening to that horrible woman calling me a liar."

"I'm just glad that all got worked out as easily as it did, not like the last two times you were arrested," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. Why am I always the one getting arrested for stuff I didn't do? You're much more reckless than I am."

"Oh, I don't know. I think it was pretty reckless of you to date your brand-new boss," he quipped.

"Really? This again? I told you I wasn't dating him. It was dinner...just dinner."

"Never stopped the gossip hounds at the office from talking about me any time I had dinner with a woman. I could never just go out with a female friend without it coming back to bite me in the ass."

"Well, let's be fair, Lee, you did have four black books at one time," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but that was more about just having people to hang out with and not be alone."

"But without having to risk getting too attached," she added.

"I'm definitely attached now," he reminded her.

"I know you are."

She patted his chest and leaned toward him for a kiss, but they were interrupted by a frightened Ivy running into the room. "Can I sleep in your bed?" she whimpered in a pleading tone.

"Yeah. Come on," Lee patted the bed, remembering just what it felt like to be a scared kid having nightmares and wishing his uncle would have been understanding enough to let him curl up with him when he was scared, but all he'd gotten from his stern guardian was, "boys don't cry."

He let out an "oof" when the girl barreled right into the middle of the bed between them.

"Tell me a story," Ivy demanded.

"Another one?" he questioned. "We just told you one when we put you to bed."

"Welcome to fatherhood," Amanda teased.

"Okay, here goes nothing. So, Scarecrow and Glinda...they finally helped the munchkins find a new home..."


	20. And a Happy New Year

The next couple of days flew by for the family as they settled into something of a routine and became more accustomed to one another until finally Christmas morning dawned and for Lee and Amanda, much earlier than they'd planned.

"Santa was here! Santa was here!" Ivy was cheering loudly as she shook Amanda awake.

"He was?" Amanda asked in surprise while Lee grumbled beside her, "'Santa' was up late doing last minute wrapping.

"Let's go see!" Amanda told her excited little girl as she climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe and then took Ivy by the hand.

When they entered the living room, she found that not only Ivy, but all five children were gathered around the tree shaking and poking packages.

"Okay, guys, you can open one...and only one, but then breakfast." There was a chorus of disappointed sighs and groans, to which she replied, "But I'll let you pick which one." Lee emerged from the master bedroom, looking sleepy, but almost as excited as the kids.

Sunny looked at both of the adults with watery eyes. "I can't believe there's stuff here with our names on them too," she said gratefully.

"Well, of course there is. You didn't think Santa would forget you, did you?"

"There's no-' the teen began, but off Amanda's stern look and a nod to Ivy, she shook her head. "No, I guess not."

"Go on," Amanda urged. "Pick which one you want to open now, then we'll go fix some breakfast."

"I want this big, heavy one right now," Sunny decided as she pulled the package in question toward her while the other children did the same.

"This one is mine!" Ivy whooped as she ran her finger across her name. "See? I-V-Y," she spelled out as she tapped each letter.

"Why don't you go ahead and open it?"Lee told her. He recognized the package because he'd not only wrapped it, but suggested it to Amanda before her shopping trip.

The little girl clapped her hands together in delight when she saw what it was. "A baby doll!"

"Yeah, and she cries real tears," Lee informed her, remembering all too well how a doll just like it had saved their lives last Christmas.

Amanda beamed at him for making the perfect gift suggestion and then turned her attention to Sunny. "What did Santa bring you?"

"New books," Sunny answered as she read the back covers of each one. " _The Babysitters Club._ I read some of these from the school library. How'd you know I liked them?"

Amanda shrugged. "I didn't. I just hoped you would since they're about girls right around your age and since you've been so good about looking after your brother and sister, I thought they might appeal to you since the girls in the books are constantly babysitting." She tapped the one on the bottom of the stack of books. "There are eight books there total and I talked to the clerk at the bookstore and she said this one is the newest one in the series. It just came out last month. But she also said there are more to be released soon, so I thought what we might do is just add to your collection as the new ones come out. How does that sound?"

"Awesome!" Sunny hugged her. "Thank you so much!"

"Thanks for the new camera," Jamie said. "I can't wait to start taking pictures with it."

"Glenn, what did you get?" Lee asked the youngest boy, though he already knew the answer.

"A new baseball mitt," he answered with a smile.

"Good. Santa must really know his stuff," he replied with a wink at Amanda. "We were just talking about getting you signed up for Little League next summer. Whaddya' say?"

"That is SO cool!" Glenn gushed.

"Phillip, what about you?"Amanda asked her oldest son.

"It's a model car just like Lee's cool Corvette," he gushed.

"And that's as close as you're ever getting to the real one," Lee teased. "But when we get home, we can make it a project to put it together, just you and me."

"Rad!" Phillip whooped.

He glanced at Amanda questioningly. "Is that a good thing?"

Amanda nodded. "Yes, it's very good." She rose and in a firm tone, announced, "Okay guys. More presents later, but now, let's clean up the mess we just made and then you all need to get out of your PJs and put some real clothes on while I work on breakfast." Amid the expected groans and complaints, she added, "Go on! Scoot!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe how well things worked out today," Lee mused as he and Amanda were getting ready for bed. "And if things continue to go the way we want, I...uh...I guess that means we can...I don't know...table the baby talk...you know...for good."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she replied.

"Oh? I thought you were dead-set against it," he looked at her in surprise.

"Well, I wasn't really totally against it," she confessed. "I just wasn't sure if I was totally for it, but with everything that's happened, it's kind of re-awakened that urge to have another baby."

"Okay, I'm really confused now. What about all your arguments against it?"

"Well, those still stand. It would still be complicated, especially with work, but I've been thinking about it just like I said I would and what I think now is with taking on these three children, what better way could there be to bridge our two families than by giving them all a new sibling that they'd share?"

"You're a constant surprise. So, does that mean you're considering it now more than you were?"

"What I was considering was at least giving it a shot, especially since the older we get, the harder it's going to be. And I also thought that I'm still a long ways off from the mandatory retirement age for field agents so I've still got time to do all that stuff. I mean, it's not like everything I've been learning is just going to disappear from my brain when I studied so hard to retain it all. So, I have a proposal for you, let's give it a year...you know...of trying to get pregnant...and if it doesn't happen by this time next year, THEN we table it for good. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a fair compromise, but are you really sure?"

"Yeah, I really am." She grinned at him and in a teasing tone, added. "Besides, even with adding two girls to our family, you fellas still outnumber us," she teased. "Maybe we could try to even the score."

He shook his head. "Mm-mm."

"What? So, now you don't want a baby anymore?"

"That's not what I meant, I meant, we don't really outnumber you. You're forgetting about your mother."

She sat bolt upright in bed. "Oh my gosh! Mother! What on earth are we going to tell her when we come home with three new grandchildren for her?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dotty entered the family room just as Amanda is settling Glenn down on the family room sofa while Lee was getting the girls situated on the pullout in the living room.

"Amanda, Lee, I'm ho-" She broke off abruptly when she saw the young boy and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Shhh..." Amanda lightly scolded her mother. "We're trying to get the kids to sleep." She nodded to the open living room doors where her husband was saying goodnight to the girls. She gestured to him as she hustled her mother toward the kitchen.

"Amanda, what's going on? Are the boys having some kind of sleepover I don't know about?" She waved her hand toward the girls just as Lee entered the room. "Because that's not like you to allow them to have a sleepover with girls. Besides that, the one little girl looks like she's much too young to be hanging out with them and it just doesn't make sen-"

"Mother, stop," Amanda cut off Dotty's ramble midstream. "I know this looks a little strange, but there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this, which I will tell you all about in the morning when we're not trying to get the children comfortable sleeping in a new house."

"New house?" Her curiosity only increased.

"Yes, Dotty," Lee answered before she could get started on another barrage of questions. "Well, new to them anyway. It's a really long story, but like Amanda said, we'll give you all the details tomorrow, but for now-"

Dotty glared at both of them. "Well, shouldn't I know something about what's going on?" She interrupted. "I mean I do live here too, you know."

Amanda smiled brightly as she glanced at the children and then back to her mother. "We-ell, you know how you've been dropping not-so-subtle hints the past few months about us making you a grandmother again?"

"Of course, but what does that-" She stopped dead in her tracks as he mind began to put the pieces together. "You mean, you...?"

"It's not official yet, but we're working on it," Lee explained as he turned toward the family room and draped an arm across Amanda's shoulders. "But if everything works out, you're going to have not just one, but three new grandchildren very soon."

Dotty beamed and let out a tiny "Oh," of delight as she hugged them both. "This is wonderful and it solves the problem you two were having in discussing your family situation."

"That's what we thought too," Lee agreed.

"But I don't think I can wait until morning for that explanation. You two need to start talking and start talking now."

"I'll put on a pot of coffee," Lee responded with a resigned sigh as he strolled to the coffeemaker.

"But let's do it in the dining room where we can close the doors so we don't keep the children up," Amanda suggested.

The moment the coffee was made and the three adults were all settled in the dining room, Dotty immediately questioned, "So, my first question is how did you go from taking the boys on a Christmas vacation to bringing home three new children?"

"We-ell, it all began with finding out we had a trio of young squatters hiding out in the cabin we rented," Amanda began.

"No, it really started with Phillip being slugged by a girl," Lee corrected her with a laugh.

"Well, yes, but that's _how_ we found out they were there," Amanda argued.

"Do you wanna' tell this story by yourself?" he challenged her. "I was there too, you know, and I was the one who had to have a serious talk with him about how to treat girls."

"But that's getting a little off-topic," Amanda replied.

"As if you're not the champion of getting off-topic," he teased with a mirthful grin.

"Ahem," Dotty cleared her throat loudly to get their attention. When they both turned back to her, she reminded them, "You were talking about the children."

"Oh, right. The kids," Lee nodded and couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped him.

"Right. Back on topic," Amanda added. "Well, when we found out the kids were there, we didn't have the heart to throw them out in the cold, but it took us some time to get them to open up about where they belonged."

"Then when we did, Amanda got arrested and we had to deal with that," Lee continued.

"Wait! Stop!" Dotty cut in. "Arrested?"

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself," Amanda scolded her husband.

He let out a sigh. "I was getting there," he defended himself.

"Well, I think we should just go back to the beginning," Amanda suggested.

"Oh, no, Missy." Her mother wagged a finger at her. "Not until you tell me why you were arrested."

Lee shook his head with a laugh. "I'm thinking this one pot of coffee just might not be enough. It's going to be a loooong night."


End file.
